EDWARDSVILLE – Metro East Lutheran's football team will be making history Saturday morning.
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The Knights, who are in the first year of a two-year football co-op with Madison, will be hosting Bunker Hill at 11 a.m. Saturday. The history will come because of the venue for the game – Sam Dymas Field at Madison High School, where a high school football game will be played for the first time since Madison dropped football after the 1992 season.
“We're all really excited about it,” said Knight coach Matt Tschudy. “We're expecting a big crowd for the game. There's going to be a pep rally for the game at Madison (Friday morning) and I know the kids there are really excited for the game.”
The two schools entered the co-op starting with this season; last year, MEL had to end its season in Week 3 when injuries left the Knights with too few players to compete. Tschudy has been happy with the Madison players who have joined the program this year.
“There's been a whole generation of students in Madison who haven't had the opportunity to play football,” Tschudy said. “The kids from Madison have really fit in well and they've shown they want to play.”
It's the second time in three weeks the Knights have taken on the Minutemen; in Week 1, B-Hill only held a 7-0 lead through three quarters before going on to take a 28-0 win. This week's game is also the Prairie State Conference opener for both teams, which means a bit more is at stake going in.
“Bunker Hill's got a good team,” Tschudy said. “They like to play smashmouth-type football, line it up and come after you. We may have a couple of wrinkles for this game, but I don't think much will change for either team.”
