Despite having the best record in Class 7A, the Edwardsville Tigers landed only one player on the Illinois Class 7A All-State team.
Althoff senior quarterback Eric Mertens was named to the Class 4A team. East St. Louis had a pair of players honored in Class 6A. The Illinois Football Coaches Association All-State teams were named Friday.
Edwardsville junior quarterback Dan Marinko was the only non-senior named to the 7A team. Marinko led the Southwestern Conference with 2,654 yards passing and 28 touchdowns. In 259 passing attempts, Marinko threw only four interceptions.
For good measure, Marinko added 634 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. He finished eighth in the conference in rushing and third in touchdowns scored. Marinko finished fourth in passing yards in the St. Louis area and tied for second in touchdown passes.
Edwardsville (12-0) hosts Chicago Mt. Carmel (11-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Tiger Stadium in the semifinals of the state playoffs.
Gregory Taylor and Kyron Watson, both seniors from East St. Louis, were named to the Class 6A All-State team. Taylor was honored as a running back, despite starting the season as a wide receiver and not having a single carry in the Flyers first four games.
Committed to Missouri as a defensive back, Taylor lead the Southwestern Conference in rushing with 1,604 yards (9.4 yds./carry) and 1,814 total yards. Taylor’s 22 touchdowns were second best in the conference to Brian Hill, of Belleville West, who scored 23.
Taylor had 94 total tackles on the defensive side of the ball, good for fourth best in the conference. The league leader in total tackles was East St. Louis and All-State teammate Kyron Watson. A Kansas recruit at linebacker, Watson tallied 151 total tackles, three sacks and two interceptions. On offense, Watson had seven receptions for 165 yards and touchdown.
East St. Louis (9-3) welcomes Richards High of Oak Lawn (11-1) to Clyde C. Jordan Memorial Stadium for a 3 p.m. contest Saturday. The winner advances to the state championship game.
Mertens’ led the Althoff Crusaders (7-5) to the Class 4A quarterfinals. He finished the season with 2,902 passing yards, second best in the St. Louis area. He threw 33 touchdowns, tied for the area lead. In 346 attempts, he threw 14 interceptions and had a completion percentage of 57.5.
