Despite tremendous athletic success from schools such as Edwardsville, O’ Fallon, Belleville East and several others, Southern teams are repeatedly overlooked as a serious threat in Illinois.

Schools in the Chicago area typically receive better seeding and higher rankings.

As recent seasons for multiple sports show, Edwardsville continues to make their case in earning recognition as one of the dominant athletic forces in the state.

Considering their success in football in particular, finishing the regular season at 9-0, it appears the Tigers are making some headway as they recently received a number one seed for the upcoming IHSA State 7A Football Playoffs.

Senior football player Darius Crochrell said, “We do our best to represent our community. When you’re up against some big Chicago schools you can often get lost in the mix, but we try to make our presence known.”

The football team isn’t the only team going out of its way to make a name for the South. The golf team has proclaimed themselves as the “Kings of the 618,” even having it sewn into the 2012 team jerseys.

This was a measure taken to make sure when the team traveled to Chicago, opposing schools would know exactly where they came from according to head coach Dene Shickedanz.

Junior golfer Drew Bradley said, “We make sure people know who we are everywhere we go, especially in the North.”

Not only fall sports are making their case known.

A number of winter and spring sports have also been dominant in the state as of late.

The basketball team finished last season as number 3 in the state and hope to maintain that ranking into the upcoming season.

Senior Shawn Roundtree hopes he can do his part to help the team.

“I’m expecting big things this year,” Roundtree said.

The tennis team is also the only team to have both the girls’ and boys’ teams ranked in the top 10 in the entire state.

With the state football tournament and winter seasons approaching, and multiple other state tournaments underway for Edwardsville sports, the Tigers are on the prowl to make a name for themselves all over the state.