Chatham-Glenwood Triumphs Over Edwardsville In High-Scoring Football Opener

EDWARDSVILLE – Quarterback Coleten Knoedler threw for three touchdown passes in the first half, while running back Grady Mueller ran for three more scores, including two key touchdowns in the second half, as Chatham Glenwood defeated Edwardsville 39-31 in the IHSA football season opener Friday night, Aug. 29, 2025, at Tiger Stadium.

After the game, Edwardsville head coach Kelsey Pickering was very complimentary of the Titans’ program.

“Well, we just lost, we don’t feel great,” Pickering said. “But Chatham’s going to win a lot of ball games. They’re doing things the right way, and we knew what the challenge was. So, we now have to go figure out how to be better from this week to next week. That’s part of growth, that’s part of high school football, is how can we progress each week?”

The Tigers did play hard the entire game, and played well, and it’s something Coach Pickering was very pleased about.

“It’s something we preach about,” Pickering said, “it doesn’t matter what the time of the clock is, it doesn’t matter what the score is. We’re going to play until the whistle’s done, until the clock’s done. And I felt like we did that. We’ve obviously cut to cut out our mistakes. Again, I’m not going to make excuses, because Chatham’s a great program. They came out, and they won tonight. And we’ve got to figure out how to be better.”

It didn’t take long for the Titans to take the lead, scoring on their first possession of the game, with Knoedler throwing 13 yards to Andrew Schwartz for the game’s first touchdown, with the Titans going up 7-0. It took the Tigers only one play tie the game, with Yale Weaver hitting a streaking Devyoun Hill-Lomax 80 yards down the middle to tie the game 7-7.

Glenwood came right back on their next possession, as Knoedler hit Blake Lehnen from 40 yards out to give the Titans back the lead at 13-7 after the conversion was missed. The Tigers' defense got into the act later on, as Glenwood recovered a bad snap on a punt in their own end zone for a safety that made the score 13-9. Edwardsville took advantage of the ensuing free kick to score, Weaver throwing 12 yards to Eric Smith to give the Tigers a 16-13 lead, their only one of the game.

The Titans then scored on their next two possessions, Mueller going in from seven yards out, then Knoedler hitting A.J. Jones from 40 yards out to give Glenwood a 25-16 lead with 2:20 left in the half. The Tigers cut the lead on a 47-yard touchdown run by Brandon Houston, Jr., and got a two-point run on a fumbled snap to cut the Titan lead to 25-23 at the interval.

Glenwood caught a major break at the start of the second half, when they recovered a fumbled punt on the Edwardsville 40, and Mueller cashed it in, going down the near sideline 40 yards for a touchdown to make the score 33-24 after a two-point convert. Mueller made it 39-24 with 7:-6 left in regulation on a 23-yard touchdown run that made it 39-24, and it proved to be the winner.

The Tigers weren’t quite done yet, and Weaver threw 34 yards to Gavin Frey, who made a brilliant catch, to put the ball on the Glenwood one, where Smith went in two plays later to make the score 39-31. Edwardsville recovered an on-side kick with 2:48 left to put themselves in business at the Titan 43, but an untimely penalty killed the momentum, and the Titans took over on downs, where they ran out the clock at took the 39-31 win.

Glenwood opens the season 1-0, while the Tigers are 0-1, and travel to Lawrence Central in Indianapolis next week in a 6 p.m. Central time start. Pickering knows it’s going to be another difficult game.

“I don’t know if we’ve got a soft game on our schedule,” Pickering said. “Ot’s about let’s get healed up this weekend, let’s take care of our injuries, and let’s get back to how we’re supposed to play Tiger football.”

Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

More like this:

Baugh's Two Hits, Two RBIs Not Enough, As Glenwood Wins Over Edwardsville 5-2 In Final Game Of Tiger Classic

May 11, 2026

East St. Louis Flyers Dominate Chatham Glenwood in Playoff Victory

Nov 10, 2025

Titans’ Big Innings Prove Decisive in Softball Sweep Against Edwardsville

Mar 29, 2026

Dylan Cohn Hat Trick Powers Edwardsville Girls Soccer Team Past Springfield Southeast In 18-0 Rout In 3A Regional Semis

May 20, 2026

Tigers' Quarterback Dean Williams Leads Edwardsville To 37-7 Win Over Alton

Oct 20, 2025