Edwardsville stuffs Quincy in season opener
The Edwardsville football team had to wait another day to know the outcome of its season opener.
A stop in the red zone helped decide it.
After thunderstorms suspended Friday’s game with the Tigers leading 14-0 with 8 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter to Saturday afternoon, Quincy marched to Edwardsville’s 4-yard line on the same drive after the game was resumed. The Tigers, however, kept the Blue Devils out of the end zone and A.J. Epenesa blocked a 22-yard field goal attempt. Edwardsville answered with an 80-yard scoring drive to push the lead to three touchdowns en route to a 35-6 victory at Flinn Stadium.
“That was nice to see,” Edwardsville coach Matt Martin said. “That was some adversity. If it’s 14-7 we have a ball game.”
Instead, the Tigers (1-0) used a 14-point swing to pull away.
After Epenesa blocked Quincy’s field goal attempt, Edwardsville went on a seven-play scoring drive, and had plays that gained 10 or more yards on the series. Quarterback Brenden Dickmann hit receiver Dayleon Harris on a 22-yard touchdown pass on third and 17 to extend the Tigers’ lead to 21-0 with 1:33 left in the third quarter.
“I thought that was the backbreaker,” Quincy coach Rick Little said. “A 21-point lead is tough enough, but just the way they did it. That made it a really tough challenge.”
Quincy (0-1) finally got on the board when running back Jirehl Brock turned a fourth and 1 into a 47-yard touchdown run on a sweep play to the left side. The PAT, however, was blocked by Epenesa that pushed the ball to the right of the upright to keep the score at 21-6 with 10:13 remaining in the game.
“I take a lot of pride in not letting them score,” Epenesa said. “But it was a fun game. I like those long drives because they really test you.”
Edwardsville answered Quincy’s score with another when Epenesa punched it in from 2-yards out to push the lead to 28-6 with 6:19 to play. After Quincy went three-and-out on its next series, running back Dionte Rodgers busted for a 53-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive to make it 35-6.
“We were trying to run the clock out,” Martin said. “We ran the ball inside and I think one of our wide outs was blocking well, and (Rodgers) just found a seam outside.”
Before the lightning delay hit Friday night, Edwardsville scored on its first two possessions of the contest.
Running back Daval Torres scored the game’s first touchdown on a 19-yard run with 1:24 remaining in the first quarter. The lead was extended to 14-0 when Rodgers scored his first touchdown of the game on a 4-yard score with 10:21remaining in the first half.
Quincy was on its first possession of the second half when the thunderstorms rolled in, and it faced a second and 15 from its own 46-yard line.
“We tried to put a big emphasis on keeping our heads locked in,” Epenesa said. “Quincy does a really job, and I knew they were going to try and come back out and kick our butts. We just had to stay focused.”
The Tigers victory, however, came at a cost as wide receiver Joseph King exited with a broken left leg with 3:18 remaining in the third quarter. He had to be carted off the field with an air cast on his leg.
“He’s a great kid and he’s the heart and soul of our team,” Martin said. “We’re going to have to make some adjustments without him in there. It breaks my heart.”
Rodgers led Edwardsville 109 rushing yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns, while Chris McCartney rushed for 44 yards on eight carries.
Dickmann was 8 of 10 through the air for 111 yards and a touchdown pass. The Tigers outgained the Blue Devils 233-188 in rushing yards and 344-247 overall in the contest.
“It wasn’t fun,” Martin said of having to make another trip to Quincy. “But a win definitely eases the pain.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2016 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Edwardsville stuffs Quincy in season opener."