Oswego and Elliott Pipkin owned the first half. Edwardsville and its monster truck defensive line found closure in the second.
Turns out through much of that first half the Tigers were still getting the kinks out following their road trip of five-plus hours. They scored 28 straight points to erase a 14-3 second-quarter deficit and earn a 31-14 Class 8A second-round playoff win.
Pipkin, a senior wideout, caught a pair of first-half touchdown passes from junior quarterback Levi Olson that covered 23 yards and 42 yards to get the Panthers (10-1) off to a fast start.
“Our kids came out hot and ready to go,” Oswego coach Brian Cooney said.
Pipkin’s first TD was on a diving catch with 3:09 remaining in the first quarter. The second, which followed a 22-yard field goal from Edwardsville kicker and Memphis recruit Riley Patterson, came with 3:11 left in the half.
“The first part of the play was for me to pretend I was going to block the safety because it’s what I had done on the previous play,” Pipkin said. “They just bit on it. I ran a backside nine route, Levi threw it up and I knew I had to go get it.”
Assistant coach Karl Hoinkes apparently helped sell it by shouting instructions to Pipkin from the sideline.
He finished the game with seven receptions for 128 yards to complement the 111 yards rushing Drew White had on 31 carries.
“It’s one of those plays you kinda draw up in the mud,” Cooney said. “Hoinkes, he’s good at that.”
Edwardsville (10-1) got right back in it, though. Cyress Ahart scored on a 1-yard run with 35 seconds left in the half, pulling the Tigers within 14-10.
“There were a lot of unanswered points after our first two scores,” Cooney said. “Their TD at the end of the half, unfortunately, took the wind out of our kids’ sails. They didn’t seem right, didn’t seem confident after that, which is shocking.”
In between, Oswego also lost standout defensive lineman Noah Shannon to an ankle injury.
“I think it took the air out of the stadium for awhile, having one of your best players go down,” Cooney said. “We tried to compensate, but you can’t replace a player like him. He’s such a force inside.”
Edwardsville, with a dominant trio on the defensive line, held the Panthers scoreless in the second half. The group is led by 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive end and Iowa commit A.J. Epenesa and includes nose tackle Tate Rujawitz and tackle Lucas Davis (6-4, 279). Both of them also have Division I scholarship offers.
“They’re worth all the press they get and we knew that coming in,” Cooney said. “We knew it was gonna be a challenge. In the passing game you’ve got to get it in your quarterback’s hands and get it out. We established a little bit of a running game but those big guys took over.”
Olson threw for 132 yards with two interceptions before leaving late in the fourth quarter with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.
Twitter @RickArmstrong28
