Tigers finish summer 7-on-7 workouts

Jul 25, 2017 5:41 AM Jul 25, 2017 5:43 AM

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EDWARDSVILLE – The start of preseason practice for area high school football teams is right around the corner, with fall camps getting under way Aug. 7 and Week 1 of the season the weekend of Aug. 25-26.

In preparation for the beginning of fall workouts, Edwardsville held its third Monday evening of 7-on-7 drills at Tiger Stadium, with the Tigers going up against Highland, Madison (which is fielding a team on its own for the first time since 1992 this season after having a co-op arrangement with Metro East Lutheran the past two seasons) and Cahokia.

“Our execution wasn't very good, but we finished on a positive note; our defense made some plays, we had a couple of batted balls and interceptions – that was positive – and our linebacker were making better zone breaks on the ball," Edwardsville head football coach Matt Martin said.

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“Offensively, we executed pretty well; some of the teams were running Cover 2 man (defenses); that's probably the toughest - we call that a 7-on-7 defense – so that's one of the toughest to pass against. I thought we threw the ball well, but we didn't necessarily finish drives and score, but we moved the ball.”

With opening weekend coming in four-and-a-half months, Martin realizes there's still much work to do in preparation for the Tigers' Aug. 26 Saturday afternoon opener against Naperville North. “We got a lot of work do; we've got to be smart and work hard,” Martin said. “We've got to play football and we'll have a chance to compete.

“I thought Kendall (Abdur-Rahman) did some good things, Donovan Booker made some good catches, Joe King made some good catches, R.J. Wilson made a few good catches; defensively, Norman Harris had an interception – there were some positives.”

Following the season-opener against Naperville North, the Tigers will host traditional area power CBC at home Labor Day weekend before opening the Southwestern Conference schedule at East St. Louis Sept. 8.