EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville High School football team will be facing a familiar opponent when the Tigers travel to top-seeded Minooka in southwest suburban Chicago for their second-round IHSA Class 8A playoff game, which kicks off Saturday at 4 p.m. in Minooka.
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Edwardsville and the Indians last played each other in the 2017 quarterfinals, which the Tigers won 28-25; before that, Minooka defeated Edwardsville 44-25 in the first round of Class 7A in 2009. The Tigers advanced to the second round with a 44-17 win over St. Charles East last Friday, while the Indians eliminated Joliet West 21-10.
Preparations for Minooka are going along well, and the Tigers, who are 8-2 going into their matchup, will be ready to go against a very good Indian team that currently sits 10-0 after their win last week.
"They've been going good, and the kids are working hard," said Edwardsville head coach Matt Martin.
And the Tigers will be going up against an opponent that's very similar in make-up and how Edwardsville approaches the game.
"Just based on what I've seen on film, they play hard, and they're very well-coached," Martin said. "Their kids are a lot like ours, we come from similar schools and similar communities, and they're a very physical football team. They're the number one seed for a reason."
For the Tigers to win and advance to the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year, they'll rely on a tried-and-true formula for success.
"For us to win, we're going to have to play well, limit our mistakes, and win the turnover battle," Martin said.
The Tigers powerful running game will play a key factor, with junior running back Justin Johnson, Jr. leading the way. He'll get key help from players like Malachi Revis, Kenyon Johnson, and sophomore Torrance Johnson, all of whom played very well when Justin Johnson missed two games with an ankle injury.
And if the running game is stopped, junior quarterback Ryan Hampton will go to his passing game, where junior tight end Mason Ahlers has also emerged as a threat. Ahlers has had two spectacular touchdown catches, one in the regular season against East St. Louis, and another last week in the win over the Saints, both times going 69 yards for the touchdown. Justin Johnson is also a viable receiving threat, as is junior tight end Pierce Boyer and senior wide receiver Noah Goldsmith.
"I think that we'll be balanced on offense," Martin said. "Justin will always be a big part of our offense, but if they stop the run, then we're going to have to make plays in the passing game. Mason is one of our best athletes as well. Football's not complicated. We've got to get the ball to our best athletes, and let them make plays."
The Tigers defense is very strong as well, with senior defensive end Lloyd Reynolds the anchor of a very good front four, who gets help from senior linebackers Evan Ramirez and Jacob Morrissey, along with defensive backs Ethan Young, Nick Hylla and Grant Matarelli.
Both the Tigers and Indians have similar offenses and defenses, and Martin feels the game could boil down to is special teams play.
"Special teams could be the key to the game," Martin said. "Our offenses and defenses are similar, so whoever plays the best on special teams will probably win the game."
The winner will advance to next week's quarterfinals against the winner of Chicago Brother Rice Catholic and South Elgin, with the date, site and time to be announced by the IHSA office on Monday afternoon.
