Week 0: Edwardsville vs Triad Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school football season kicked off in Illinois on Friday.&nbsp; Well….kind of.&nbsp; It was week 0 where teams could scrimmage other squads as a preseason game.&nbsp; We were at Edwardsville High School to see the Tigers take on Triad.&nbsp; Here we dive into the prospects that caught our attention.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now it is important to remember that this was just a scrimmage as each offense and defense only got 24 total snaps with most of the starters playing about 2/3 of them so not a huge selection of plays, but this will give you a glimpse at who made an impression.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DE [player_tooltip player_id='830235' first='Iose' last='Epenesa'] (Edwardsville – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Epenesa is the top prospect in the state's senior class.&nbsp; He announced his college commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes last week following in his family's legacy there.&nbsp; Epenesa is a 6'4” 262 pound defensive lineman that showed he can play up and down the line.&nbsp; He is extremely physical with everything that he does using his hands and overpowering double teams.&nbsp; His most impactful play of the day was getting a fumble recovery in the early going.&nbsp; The physical gifts and technique are off the charts for the future Big 10 star.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TE [player_tooltip player_id='1564061' first='Jack' last='Weaver'] (Edwardsville – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Weaver is a prospect that opened our eyes.&nbsp; In warm ups he stands out as a 6'3” tight end that moves very fluidly.&nbsp; What you have to like about him is how he can be a vertical threat splitting the middle of the defense and making plays over the middle.&nbsp; Did it twice with one counting and the other not because it was called back.&nbsp; Gets off the line of scrimmage well on his release and has strong hands.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>RB [player_tooltip player_id='1564673' first='Steven' last='Moore'] (Edwardsville – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moore is a bowling ball of a running back at 5'10” 190 pounds.  Loved the physicality that he ran with.  Good vision and always kept churning his legs.  Had one play where he put on a double spin move that was video game worthy.  Runs low to the ground and cuts with power.  Flashes burst with the rock in his hands.  Primed for a breakout season!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WR Christopher Malone (Edwardsville – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Malone is a wide out that does a little bit of everything.&nbsp; Seemed to be all over the field with his versatility on the night.&nbsp; Good pass catcher that has solid size at 6'0” along with quickness in short areas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='1564069' first='Javion' last='Smith'] (Edwardsville – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Smith really popped to us in the contest.&nbsp; He is a well-built 6'1” linebacker that makes plays.&nbsp; He was explosive bursting through the hole for several plays including a sack early.&nbsp; Takes excellent angles to the ball and has some coverage potential although he was called for a PI on one pass breakup he had.&nbsp; The ability to impact as a run defender was very impressive along with pass rushing potential.&nbsp; Schools should definitely take a look here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DT James McAdams (Edwardsville – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McAdams is a big bodied undersized defensive tackle at 5'9”.&nbsp; The wide bodied big man up front made an impactful play on a forced fumble getting in the backfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DE/EDGE [player_tooltip player_id='1326078' first='Owen' last='Lightner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1564705' first='Aiden' last='Patrick'] (Triad – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lightner and Patrick are a pair of edge players that are worth monitoring.&nbsp; On the first drive they did a pretty good job of keeping Edwardsville offense in check by getting after the quarterback and pursuing the ball in the run game.&nbsp; Both have decent size as Lightner goes 6'1” 200 lbs while Patrick is 6'3” 205 lbs.&nbsp; Small colleges should definitely be on these two.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB [player_tooltip player_id='1585247' first='Gavin' last='Dobbs'] (Triad – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dobbs physically looks the part of a middle linebacker at the college level.&nbsp; At 6'0” 210 pounds he has a nice combination of strength and speed.&nbsp; One to continue to monitor as he is going to be a tackling machine this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>QB [player_tooltip player_id='1196534' first='Isaac' last='Ackerman'] (Triad – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ackerman is the veteran of the Triad two headed QB.&nbsp; The senior 5'10” 185 lbs signal caller really likes to throw it to the edges getting the ball to the perimeter for his wide outs to do damage.&nbsp; Crisp with everything he does including ball fakes and sound mechanics.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>QB [player_tooltip player_id='403899' first='Brody' last='Hasquin'] (Triad – 2027)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hasquin has prototype size at 6'3” 195 pounds.&nbsp; He is a well built young QB prospect that has a lot of intangibles that we like.&nbsp; It definitely starts with the size and athleticism.&nbsp; He moves very well scrambling for a first down and had a on the money throw going to his right rolling out of the pocket.&nbsp; The newly ranked top 60 sophomore took what the defense gave him.&nbsp; He rocketed quick passes with velo and put touch on passes to his backs.&nbsp; The mechanics and pocket presence are a plus.&nbsp; Also plays linebacker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WR [player_tooltip player_id='1315092' first='Ian' last='Dempsey'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1564728' first='Louis' last='Yohannes'] (Triad – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dempsey and Yohannes are the two major offensive weapons for Triad.&nbsp; Dempsey is a jack of all trades that caught some passes on the move.&nbsp; Yohannes brings some size at 6'2” with a solid catch radius.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>G [player_tooltip player_id='1564110' first='Landon' last='Busch'] (Triad – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Busch is a guard that small colleges should take a look at.&nbsp; The 6'2” 250 pound left guard has a nice frame, good strength, and moves well for his size.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Other Notables</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WR [player_tooltip player_id='1404803' first='Devyon' last='Hill-Lomax'] (Edwardsville – 2026)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hill-Lomax was the prospect I was most looking forward to seeing in this setting as he has had a lot of off season buzz.&nbsp; He totally looks the part at 6'5” 193 pounds with long arms, broad shoulders, and fluid athleticism.&nbsp; Looked good in drill work before the game.&nbsp; No production during the brief scrimmage as he just missed a post route for a touchdown and the other pass thrown his way was broken up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>S Clayton Lakotos (Edwardsville – 2025)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lakatos is a rangy 6'1” safety that didn't get many passes his way as most of the Triad passes were to the edges or short.&nbsp; He does bring nice size and athleticism on the backend.&nbsp; Look forward to seeing him again soon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->