Explorers, Angleton excited about new football season

Jul 25, 2017 11:36 AM

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EDWARDSVILLE – Marquette Catholic's football team wrapped up summer 7-on-7 drills Monday night by taking part in Edwardsville's passing sessions at Tiger Stadium, with the Explorers taking on Cahokia and Highland in addition to the Explorer freshmen going up against the Tigers' JV team.

“It went OK,” said Explorer coach Darrell Angleton. “We had a couple of guys on vacation, so we tried to work around that but it gives the seconds some time; a good thing was that Edwardsville has their JV team – I brought all my freshmen and it gave them an opportunity to play a little bit as well.

“It's always a good opportunity to work on some mechanics – quarterback mechanics, route mechanics – but when you don't have shoulder pads on, you're not having people in your face.”

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“I'm returning seven guys on each side of the ball for the most part, so I should be pretty veteran (this season). It's something to build on; we have a few key players gone, but then we've got guys who can replace them – I feel pretty good about the season.”

That the Explorers – like any high school – have players to replace for this season is part of the equation in prep football. “They're not bad,” Angleton said. “We're in a pretty good position in the (Prairie State) conference – the key to it is that we want to win a couple of playoff games this year.”

That the Explorer freshmen were able to get some work in against Edwardsville's JV meant much to Angleton. “My freshman class is going to be something special,” Angleton said of the 16-17 freshmen out for football this season. “We've got a real high expectation for that group; I've got 16 seniors as well – we've got a real good senior group. We're a little lighter on the numbers in the middle, but the bookends are good.”

The Explorers open Aug. 25 at home against Civic Memorial in a backyard rivalry game, then play at Breese Mater Dei Sept. 1 before taking on Nokomis on the road Sept. 8 to open their PSC schedule.