Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
EDWARDSVILLE — Oftentimes in football, the game can swing on one, maybe two big plays.
And such was the case Friday night at Edwardsville’s Tiger Stadium, where Norman Harris took a kickoff back 90 yards for a touchdown right after Belleville East took the lead shortly before halftime, and returned a fumble 45 yards for another touchdown to seal the game in a 49-25 win over the Lancers in Edwardsville’s homecoming game.
“That was a big momentum — answer a score with a score,” said Tigers coach Matt Martin. “It’s huge. You know, coach (Dave) Daugherty does a great job with the special teams. Our kids give great effort; they believe that if they execute, good things will happen for us, and that happened on that kickoff return.”
That kickoff return sparked a big swing, where Edwardsville scored on their first two possessions of the second half to totally turn the game in their favor.
“It was a huge momentum swing,” Martin said. “Momentum can start to steamroll you, and you’ve got to have the mental toughness, when something bad happens to you, to keep competing and turn that momentum on your side.”
The first half was definitely a see-saw affair, that saw the lead change hand several times. The Lancers kept the ball for nearly five minutes on the opening possession, going 64 yards in 15 plays, led by crisp runs by Freddie Waller and quarterback Kienan Waller. Waller also completed two key passes on the drive, which ended with Alex Maxim’s 33-yard field goal to put East up 3-0.
Edwardsville answered with a 13 play, 62-yard touchdown drive led by the running of Antonio Thigpen, Jr. and quarterback Kendall Abdur-Rahman. Thigpen scored from two yards out to give the Tigers its first lead at 7-3.
A 62-yard touchdown run by Freddie Waller gave the Lancers the lead right back, but freshman running back Justin Johnson provided most of the yardage on the next possession, scoring on a six-yard run with 8:26 left in the first quarter, giving the Tigers the lead right back at 14-10.
Johnson gives the Tigers another weapon in their offensive arsenal.
“Justin’s not a normal freshman,” Martin said. “Justin has a maturity about him, obviously physical gifts too that not a lot of freshmen have. All he does is stay quiet, works, gets better every day. And when you show that kind of maturity as a freshman, you’re going to get opportunities like this on Friday nights.”
Later on, Abdur-Rahman was sacked in the end zone for a Lancer safety, and on the ensuing possession, Freddie Waller completed an eight play, 53-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run, giving the Lancers the lead at 19-14 with 1:17 left in the first half. It would be the last lead East would have.
On the ensuing kickoff, Harris took the ball, found a seam behind great blocking, and went 90 yards for the touchdown that put the Tigers up for good with 1:04 to go. It gave Edwardsville a 21-19 lead at halftime.
“He’s one of our hardest workers,” Martin said of Harris. “He’s a quiet kid, just works hard, and he does what he’s coached to do. He’s just a joy to coach, and he’s really grown up. I’m proud of him”
Edwardsville extended its lead on the opening possession of the second half, getting 41 yards on the first two plays on carries by Abdur-Rahman, then Johnson doing the rest scoring from three yards out. Then after the Tigers recovered a fumble, Abdur-Rahman climaxed another drive with a 26-yard TD run to give Edwardsville a 35-19 lead.
The Lancers cut the lead to 35-25 later on an 86-yard, 12-play march, where Freddie Waller carried the ball most of the way, mixed in with sharp Kienen Waller passes to Quantavius Alexander and DeCarlos Johnson. Freddie Waller scored on a two-yard sweep around left end with 29.7 seconds left, but a two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
Next possession: one play, 81 yards. Abdur-Rahman kept the ball, made a nice fake, and took off on an electrifying run that extended the lead back to 42-25.
“That was a great call by coach (Doug) Heinz,” Martin said, “the kids executed well, and Kendall made a great play.
“Obviously, he’s the one guy that if he gets loose, not too many guys are going catch him” Martin also said. “And you try to get that guy the ball the most. He has the potential for the big play more than anybody on our team, especially with Dionte (Rodgers) gone. Everybody else are good football players, but not everybody has that breakaway speed, so we try to take advantage of it.”
Harris provided the final score of the game, recovering a Lancer fumble in the fourth quarter and returning it 45 yards to seal the game for the Tigers at 49-25.
Martin had great praise for the Lancers, who dropped to 1-6 on the year.
“They’re a good team,” Martin said. “Offensively, defensively, they’re a great team. They were more balanced offensively than we’ve seen in films, they’re able to run the ball, and throw the ball short, or long if they had to. They’re tough to defend. The tale of the tape was the turnovers. We got them in the turnover battle in the second half. That helped tremendously.”
The Tigers, who improved to 4-3 on the season, go on the road to play Belleville West next week, and Martin knows how good the Maroons are.
“I’ve seen them a little bit, I’ve seen them on film a little bit, I’ve scouted them,” Martin said. “They’re pretty good. So, we’ve got our hands full. It’s going to be tough.”
The win, however, was especially important for the Tigers’ playoff hopes, as a loss would have hurt their chances badly.
“They all do,” Martin said. “Absolutely. Belleville East is a good football team, they’re a lot better than they were last year. It’s hard to believe they’re 1-6, because that’s a good football team. But Belleville West will be even tougher, so we’ll see.”
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
