IHSA High school Team Preview: Edwardsville HS Tigers

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Edwardsville Tigers are coming off of a 4-2 spring season in which they received both losses to the East St. Louis Flyers. This fall, the Tigers will be led by new head coach Charles Williams. He loses a lot of impact seniors who had a great spring but brings back a star-packed group with talent on both sides of the ball. It will be interesting to watch how Edwardsville handles their first two games of the season. Both games are on the road in Missouri, with one of the teams being perennial powerhouse De Smet Jesuit. In the past, Edwardsville has managed to split the series of road games in Missouri. I am looking forward to seeing the Tigers breakthrough and start the season 2-0. </span> <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2021 Spring Record</span> (4-2)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">3/19 Alton HS </span><strong>(31-7)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">3/26 Belleville East </span><strong>(49-21)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">4/2 East St. Louis </span><strong>(21-52)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">4/9 Belleville West </span><strong>(42-21)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">4/16 O’Fallon </span><strong>(43-40)</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">4/23 East St. Louis </span><strong>(47-50)</strong> <hr /> Impact Players to Watch: <span style="font-weight: 400;">James DiStaso-Hutchins (QB-2023- 6’5” 230 lb)</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">James is a quarterback who made a name for himself this summer. At camp after camp, he showed that not only is he a unit at 6’ 5” 230 pounds, but that he has a high football IQ that’s paired with a strong arm. Now we get to see him put it all together this fall when the pads are on and the lights are shining. </span> &nbsp; <span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="20909" first="Nasim" last="Cairo"] (ATH- 2022- 6’2” 270lb) </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a defensive lineman who has a motor, and tremendous flexibility on the field. He finished his spring season as a junior with 26 tackles and 4 sacks. The tigers chose to line him up along the d-line, while also having him play snaps at left and sometimes right tackle. The most impressive thing about Nasim that’s not on the stat sheet is the pressure he generates with his close-out speed. Time after time this spring, Nasim would leave quarterbacks disgruntled. This fall, it will be no surprise to see more double teams and inside pressure from Nasim this fall.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jordan Bush (RB-2023- 5’9” 170 lb) </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jordan Bush is figured to be the new starting Running back for the Tigers this fall. He replaces Johnson Jr. who now holds the rushing record for the Edwardsville Tigers. It will be a great coming out season for the junior running back who had his coming out party this spring against Belleville East. He rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, Illustrating good vision and his ability to create big plays when the ball is in his hand. If opposing defenses fail to set the edge, they will see how dangerous Jordan can be.</span> &nbsp; Other Players to watch: Dalton Brown- 2024-LB Colton Carstens- 2022-DE Chase Parker-2023-TE/OLB Gabe James-2022-WR Jordan Brooks-2022-WR <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b>2021 Fall Schedule</b></span> AUG 27- <span style="font-weight: 400;">St. Louis (De Smet Jesuit)</span> SEP 3<span style="font-weight: 400;">- Highland</span> SEP 10<span style="font-weight: 400;">- Champaign (Central)</span> SEP 17<span style="font-weight: 400;">- O’Fallon HS</span> SEP 24<span style="font-weight: 400;">- Belleville West</span> OCT 1<span style="font-weight: 400;">- Alton Sr.</span> OCT 8<span style="font-weight: 400;">- Belleville East</span> OCT 15<span style="font-weight: 400;">- East St. Louis</span> OCT 22<span style="font-weight: 400;">- St. Louis (Christian Brothers)</span> &nbsp; <strong>Games to watch:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Three games to watch this fall that includes the Tigers, are against De Smet Jesuit (8/27), East St. Louis (10/15), and Christian Brothers (10/22). These three games may not only be their toughest challenges but also may depend on playoff seeding. De Smet Jesuit is coming off of a  2019 Missouri state championship. They are a team that plays fast and suffocates opponents. Edwardsville’s playstyle is very similar. Opening night in St. Louis is sure to bring a lot of yardage from both teams. East St. Louis is marked as a game to watch because the Tigers came within 3 points of beating them in the spring. In a 47-50 game thriller, I know that the Tigers seek to take down the Goliath of their conference. The last game to watch will be the last game of the season against Christian Brothers in St. Louis. The matchup between these two teams always results in a lot of scoring. With a lot of points being scored, and the game potentially affecting both teams’ playoff seeding. This game will have fireworks that everyone will want to see. </span> <hr /> <b><i>For more IHSA team previews, you can follow @prepredzone or prepredzoneIL! 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