Tigers begin regular football practice season with high expectations

Aug 8, 2017 11:55 AM Aug 8, 2017 2:09 PM

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EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville Tigers have built a powerhouse football team under head coach Matt Martin and his staff in recent years. It appears things will be the same again this year - the football Tigers should be one of the favorites in the Southwestern Conference.

Quarterback Kendall Abdur-Rahman will be the leader of the team at quarterback. Dionte Rodgers is back in the backfield and should be one of the premier runners in the Southwestern Conference. Abdur-Rahman replaces Brenden Dickman at the quarterback slot.

Coach Martin said Abdur-Rahman was an excellent player at his safety position on defense last year, but he is an outstanding athlete and that should show at his quarterback role. He saw some brief action at quarterback last year for the Tigers as a sophomore.

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A.J. Epenesa, the mainstay in the line last year, is now at the University of Iowa preparing for the 2017 fall college season. Coach Martin mentioned Drew Johnson and Jacob Stellhorn as key line returnees for the Tigers.

Coach Martin is always excited to begin the fall schedule and said for the first time out with regular practices on Monday it was “a pretty good day.”

“We go back to helmets on the first day and focus on some basic fundamentals,” he said. “We have potential to have an excellent backfield with Rodgers returning and Kendall as our quarterback. Kendall is one of the best athletes on our team.”

The Tigers open their season with a 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, game at home against Naperville North. In week two, the Tigers host CBC. Both games should be tough ones as Naperville North won eight games last year and CBC captured 11 wins in 2016.