Every fall season, there’s a high school football game on the schedule that Kewanee and Princeton players, coaches and fans take note of — and that’s the meeting between the Boilermakers and Tigers. This year, the state’s longest running football rivalry will be celebrating its 125th anniversary.
To mark the celebration, the Boilermakers will travel to Princeton Friday night to take on the Tigers on the eve of their homecoming.
“As a former Boilermaker player and now as a coach, the significance of this game isn’t lost on me and it’s not lost on our team,” said KHS Coach Matt Taylor. “It’s exciting to be part of such a great tradition. Not every team has this kind of matchup to look forward to every year,” he added.
The Boilermakers will be looking to take back possession of the traveling trophy after getting pummeled last year, 56-7. Doing so certainly won’t be easy, but Taylor feels he and his coaching staff have done all they can do to prepare their team for the task at hand.
“Princeton is a formidable foe, but we believe we match up pretty well with them,” said Taylor. Princeton, ranked no. 3 in 3A, boasts a record of 4-1, while Kewanee remains unbeaten at 5-0. The Boilers are 3-0 in TRAC-Mississippi play and Princeton is 1-0.
“We see this as a great opportunity to play a high caliber team and to be tested,” said Taylor. “We’ll be able to see what we’re doing well and what areas we can still improve on.”
To that point, both teams pride themselves on playing solid defense. Through five games, Princeton has yielded just 5.2 points a game, while the Boilers have surrendered just 8.2 a contest.
Leading Princeton’s defense has been Arthur Burden. The 6’1″ 170 pound junior linebacker is averaging 9.4 tackles per game.
“Burden has real good speed and he’s all over the field,” said Taylor. “He definitely needs to be addressed.”
Adding in that effort have been senior Bennett Williams (6’4″ 265 pounds) and Ian Morris. They each average 6.8 tackles a game and Williams has four QB sacks on the season.
“Physically, we need to match them force for force,” said Taylor. In terms of sheer physical size, we match up pretty well.”
Leading the Boilers’ defensive effort have been end, Blake Johnston and linebacker, Draven Peterson. Johnston has 21 solo tackles and 14 assists on the season. Johnston also had two sacks last week against Hall, adding to his 6.5 season total (the half, compliments of his brother, Tyler Johnston).
Peterson has 17 solo tackles and 14 assists for the Boilers. Alex Duarte has 15 solo and 15 assists. Cruz Paredes has contributed 12 solo/11 assists. Dan Boswell has 10 solo/11 assists and Jackson Hawkins has chipped in with 10 solo and 10 assists on the season.
Other key contributors have been Landon Mason, Davontae Jordan, Tre Amos, Braden Clark and Kashen Ellerbrock.
Joining the defense as of late has been All-TRAC senior standout Corbyn Powers. Powers had been hampered by an ankle injury earlier in the season so was primarily playing on the offensive line as a guard.
“He’s been a great leader for our team,” said Taylor. “He’s the senior anchor. He’s very athletic and he’s a smart player. It’s nice to have him pulling some defense now.”
The aforementioned KHS defense will be tasked with containing sophomore sensation, Casey Etheridge. Princeton’s fleet-footed running back averages an impressive 196.8 yards a game. He’s scored 15 TD’s on the season (all rushing).
“Etheridge runs hard and has good speed,” noted Taylor. “His O-line makes big holes for him and he eventually wears people down. He’s testy,” added Taylor. ” If you don’t wrap him up early, he’s gonna take off. We need to know where he is at all times. It’s gonna take a great team effort.”
Junior William Lott is Princeton’s starting play caller. Lott’s main initiative is to get the ball into the hands of Etheridge and Ace Christianson (44 yards rushing/game). Lott has only carried the ball twice, which resulted in a loss of eight yards.
Lott will occasionally pass the ball. He averages 80 yards/game through the air. His primary target is Noah Laporte who averages 44 receiving yards a game.
By contrast, Kewanee quarterback Braden Clark is very versatile. He’s comfortable passing the ball, handing it off and running with it. Last week Clark carried the ball 11 times for 72 yards. He also completed four of eight passes for 83 yards.
On the season, Clark has completed 38 of 56 passes for 638 yards (8 TD’s). He’s also the team’s second leading rusher, carrying the ball 54 times for 336 and 5 TD’s.
Kewanee’s leading rusher on the season is junior Alex Duarte (47 carries for 406 yards – 6 TD’s). Last week he carried the ball 14 times and racked up 107 yards (9.1 yards a clip) and scored two TD’s.
Clark’s main passing targets have been junior Ben Taylor (14 catches for 224 yards – 2TD’s); junior Davontae Jordan (8 catches for 189 yards – 2 TD’s); junior Colson Welgat (7 catches for 118 yards – 2 TD’s); and Brady Schiltz (7 catches for 96 yards – 2 TD’s).
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Princeton’s Bryant Field.
*Stats provided by Jerry Salisbury.
