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ALTON - Saturday nights aren't typically the time for high school football games in the area, but Marquette Catholic and Civic Memorial are making an exception to open the season.
The Explorers will host the Eagles as both teams kick off their 2015 seasons at 7 p.m. Saturday at Alton's Public School Stadium. The Eagles are coming off a 3-6 2014 season, while the Explorers finished 5-4 last year.
Fifteen seniors return for their final year for the Eagles, with 17 juniors; nine starters from both sides of the ball will be back this year.
“There's lots of excitement here for the start of the season,” CM coach Justin Winslow, starting his fifth year at the helm of the Eagles, said. “Our expectations are pretty high for the season; what we need to do is stay focused and get the job done.
“We run a spread offense and we want to have a good balance of running and passing, basically just taking what the defense gives to us. Defensively, we like to be pretty aggressive; we want to stop the run and create a few turnovers.
“We'll be running 4-4 with a Cover 2 defense; we want to put a lot of pressure on the offense.”
Marquette Catholic Coach Darrell Angleton has high expectations for the season with practices and workouts going exceptionally well so far.
He said Civic Memorial will be a strong opponent to open the season with at Public School Stadium.
“CM does have a larger student population than us and a few more boys out,” he said. “I think they will be a passing team with a veteran quarterback like Trey (Aguirre), our quarterback. We need to stop the passing game or I think they will be able to pass or run.”
The Eagles do score quite a few points with the spread; they've averaged 32 points a game in 2014. They feature quarterback Adam Hill, who threw for 2,800 yards last season and was among the St. Louis area's top passers.
“He averaged between 30-40 passes a game,” Winslow said. “He throws the ball pretty well and runs an uptempo attack.”
Both teams should be ready for this season opener. “I know our fans are excited and the Marquette fans will be too,” Winslow said. “I'm sure it'll be a packed house for them Saturday; it's Week 1 and everyone's really excited for the game and the start of the season.”
Quarterback Trey Aguirre will be the key cog of the offense for the Explorers this season. He is a senior and has a strong arm, Angelton said.
“Trey’s expectation of himself is he wants to win,” Angleton said. “He wants victories and he gives that feedback to the team. When little problems come up he is already on it. He is a special player.”
Jesse Simmons, a talented receiver, will likely be Aguirre’s favorite throwing target this season for the Explorers.
Brady McAfee will be a threat for the Explorers at running back and Jeremy Strebel and James Jurnigan will also be top offensive targets. D’Avion Peebles will be another threat out of the backfield with his exceptional speed. Brian Nagy will also get time at the receiver position.
CM can score points in a hurry if the defense isn’t careful, Angleton said.
“If you aren’t careful the game could turn into a shootout in a hurry,” he said. “We have to control the ball a little bit and score some points.”
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
