As the Tigers walked off the field with tears in their eyes on a windy November night last year, they knew it was all over. Every hot summer practice they had battled and every hit they had taken had come to an end. Mt. Carmel had outlasted the Tigers 34-7 in the frigid cold on their own home turf in the class 7A State Semi-Final game. The Tigers finished 12-1 last season marking the best finish in school history, but is it possible that the Tigers could be better this year?
“I think our chances are good at making a deep run in the playoffs,” said senior linebacker Curt Mueller, “our team consists of mostly seniors who have been around the program for a long time and we all know what is expected of us.”
EHS returns several starters from last year on offense including All-State senior quarterback Dan Marinko. Marinko rewrote the EHS record books last season as he threw for 2,940 yards and 29 touchdowns, while rushing for 793 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Marinko will be dependent on his receiving core as Isaiah Michl will be the man expected to fill the void of top receiver, Darius Crochrell, from a year ago.
Crochrell, who is now continuing his football career at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, caught 66 balls for 921 yards and 15 touchdowns last season for the Tigers. Michl, his successor for this year, caught 38 passes for 725 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
Seniors Fontez Davis, Tommy Maxwell and Monty Sharpe will have to step up as well, at receiver, if the Tigers wish to have a balanced passing attack in 2014.
Giving the Tigers protection up front in 2014 will be a starting offensive line of all seniors. Returning starters, Nick Kaltmayer and Jeff Clubb will lead the way for the big men as they will be joined by first-year starters Jacob Rice, Austin Whisnant and Sam Wynn. Their duty will be to create good protection, for the scrambling Marinko, and big holes for the two new junior running backs, Kendell Davis and Jackson Morrisey, who will likely split time in the back field this season.
On the flip side of the ball, the lockdown Tiger defense will set out to maintain their reputation as one of the best defenses in the state. EHS returns their leading tackler from last season, senior middle linebacker Zac Rujawitz, who tallied 105 total tackles for the orange and black. Joining Rujawitz on the linebacker crew will most likely be fellow senior Curt Mueller, who racked up 47 total tackles last season, and junior Riley Jones.
In the secondary the Tigers may hurt a little bit. EHS lost both of their starting cornerbacks to graduation, Craig James, who is now playing football at Minnesota University, and Brian Crowe, who is continuing his career at Washington University in St. Louis. Expect junior Chrys Colley and senior Fontez Davis to fill in at corner this season.
As for the safety situation, the Tigers will lean heavily on junior Jourdyn Jones to shut down the big plays. Kyler Davis will most likely join Jones at safety, but don’t count out junior Grant Bradley as there has been nothing but high praise coming out of camp for him this summer.
“Jourdyn Jones and Fontez Davis will step up big for us this year at safety and cornerback,” said Mueller, “but of course one or two guys can’t just step up, the whole team will have to.”
All eyes this season will be on the man at defensive end, the 6 foot 5 inch sophomore, AJ Epenesa. As a freshman, Epenesa started the first four games for the Tigers last season before his year came to an abrupt ending as he broke his foot. Nevertheless, Epenesa has already attracted much attention from large BCS college football programs as he is ranked number two in the nation in the class of 2017.
With already 11 offers, and more to come, to play for large division one programs, including the defending national champions, the Florida State Seminoles, Epenesa and his teammates expect him to live up to the hype. “AJ is a freak of nature,” said quarterback Dan Marinko, “he’s got the total package, that’s why he’s the number two ranked player in America.”
Also adding to the Tigers defensive line presence will be senior Jeff Clubb. Clubb, who will play on both sides of the ball, racked up 57 total tackles in 2013, putting him fifth on the team in that category.
The schedule for the Tigers won’t be easy however; as they will be tested in their first three games of the season but the team only thinks that it can make them better come crunch time. “Playing the toughest schedule in Edwardsville history should prepare us for the playoffs, so I am confident we can make a deep run,” said Marinko.
Edwardsville opens up the season at home against West Side High School from Gary, Indiana on Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. Following the West Side game, the Tigers will have to take the journey up north to face a very tough Loyola Academy team in week two. Then, starting week three, the Tigers get into conference play opening up at rival school, East St. Louis in a Saturday matinee affair.
The first time you can catch the football Tigers in action will be Friday Aug. 22, as they will host their annual orange and black scrimmage at the District 7 Sports Complex at 7:30 p.m.
