Welcome to prime time.
West Aurora junior Jaden Edwards is just four games into his first varsity season — and in only his third year of playing football — but he’s quickly becoming an impact player.
A 6-foot, 165-pound free safety, Edwards has delivered with four interceptions as the undefeated Blackhawks have matched their best start since 2017.
“We didn’t know who was going to step up in that group,” said assistant coach Charlie Graves, who works with the secondary. “They’re all juniors and a sophomore. We were hoping for a guy to come in and compete, but he’s taken it to the next level.”
Edwards made his first pick in the season opener at Proviso East and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown. He was credited for a fumble recovery against Romeoville, scooping up a blocked punt and taking it 60 yards for a TD.
Junior strong safety Azuriah Sylvester has one interception and returned it 29 yards for a TD, while sophomore cornerback Jayden Garcia has one interception. Junior Jordan Martino starts at the other corner.
“I like the freedom of it,” Edwards said of his position. “I get to go make plays as much as I can and help the corners as much as I can.
“I played some soccer but then moved to basketball, which is really like my first love.”
His mother, Shari, suggested football and he gave it a try.
“I was pretty good at it and have kept going,” Edwards said. “Football is starting to grow on me.”
The Blackhawks, who have yet to turn the ball over on offense, have a plus-7 turnover ratio.
West Aurora (4-0, 0-0) opens its final Southwest Prairie West season Friday at home against Yorkville (2-2, 0-0) before returning to the Upstate Eight Conference in 2024.
The Blackhawks need one win to become playoff eligible for the first time since 2018, but haven’t beaten a division rival in four seasons in the conference.
They’ve had battles against the Foxes, however, with three of the losses coming by one, two and 10 points.
“I’d love to go 5-0,” Edwards said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve done that. We have to play our game, keep everything in front of us and do what we do best, get takeaways.”
Senior linebacker Luis Estrella, who leads the Blackhawks with 40 tackles, expects Edwards to finish the season strong.
“Jaden is a real good athlete,” Estrella said. “He gets around, likes to rally to the ball and has been looking good. We thought he might move up to varsity last year.”
Edwards, who has 16 tackles, suffered a knee injury early that summer as a point guard in basketball and was still dealing with physical therapy.
“He’s got a lot of natural ability,” defensive coordinator Pat Stremel said. “He’s got some vision for that ball. I think part of that might be his basketball. In June, we were excited about using him in that safety spot instead of cornerback.
“If you watch, he has high-pointed the ball on every single pick. He catches the ball up here with his hands. His jump, his hop, help him have the ability to do that.”
While raving about the pick-six, Stremel said Edwards’ best one of the season came at Romeoville late in the first half.
“We gave up a big return and had a TD-saving stop,” Stremel said. “Two plays later, Jaden steps in front of the receiver on a slant route and picks it off.
“He saw it, jumped it, got it. That’s the momentum we talk about.”
On top of that, Edwards said film study has helped.
“With that comes more and more progression,” Stremel said. “We want to get better and better. I told him, ‘You set the standard for yourself and our defense. Now, continue doing that.'”
