Make no mistake, the 1-3 Kahoks, coming off a 1-8 season, will not be intimidated when they step onto the field Friday night against the states’ fifth ranked Class 7A team, the Edwardsville Tigers.
“Football players don’t walk into a game scared,” Collinsville Head Coach John Blaylock said.
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The coaches have to ensure the players know there is path to victory. “Part of my job is to make sure the kids know that we have a game plan that…if it’s executed, it will bring us to victory,” Blaylock said.
The Kahoks (1-3 overall, 0-2 Southwestern Conference) have a great deal of respect for Edwardsville (4-0 overall, 2-0 SWC), Blaylock said. “They’re not going to beat themselves. That’s Coach (Matt) Martin’s brand of football and he does a very good job of that,” Blaylock said.
Controlling the ball and the clock, and taking advantaging of scoring opportunities, are the keys to the game offensively for Collinsville, Blaylock said. The Kahoks have the potential to make that happen.
Junior running back Jamal Wellmaker is second in the Southwestern Conference with 418 rushing yards on only 63 carries, good for 6.6 average. Junior fullback Jordan Miller is seventh in the conference with 307 rushing yards.
Stopping Edwardsville junior quarterback Dan Marinko, the league’s leading passer in yards (780) and touchdowns (11), will be the key to the game for the Collinsville defense. Marinko’s 166 rushing yards are good for 12th in the conference.
Collinsville wants to make Marinko uncomfortable, but they need to be disciplined in their pursuit of the quarterback. “If you come flying up the field to get him in the passing game, the next thing you know, he’s running past you in the option game,” Blaylock said.
Marinko has a pair of accomplished targets for his passes. Junior wide receiver Isaiah Michl’s 307 receiving yards leads the conference. He averages 21.9 yards per catch on his 14 receptions.
Michl is tied with senior wide receiver Darius Crochrell for third in the conference in scoring with five touchdowns apiece. Crochrell has four more receptions than Michl and is fourth in the league in receiving yards.
The rebuilding Kahoks continue to focus on improving each week, perhaps even more than they focus on their opponents.
“As a coach, you have to look at what you’re doing right, what you’re doing wrong and how close you are to getting it turned around,” Blaylock said. “We’re four points from being a 3-1 team and eight mistakes away from being a 4-0 team.”
Two of the three Collinsville losses were by a combined three points. The other loss was by 16 to Belleville East.
“The brass ring that we’re chasing is not as far out in front of us as some folks might think, but we do have to clean our play up,” Blaylock said.
Kick off is at 7 p.m. Friday at EHS Tiger Stadium. The game will be streamed live at kahoksports.com.
