EAST ST. LOUIS – Quarterback Ella Wallace threw for three touchdown passes – two to Remi Werden – and Sophie Shapiro also had a touchdown reception as Edwardsville High’s girls flag football team won the first-ever Southwestern Conference championship with a 20-o win over East St. Louis at Clyde C. Jordan Memorial Stadium.
The Tigers completed a 10-1 regular season, and also avenged their only loss of the year, a 25-7 defeat to the Flyers at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 17. After the game, Edwardsville head coach Taylor Hay was very excited and ecstatic as well.
“Such a great feeling,” Hay said. “The girls were happy, they played well. They deserved the win tonight.”
The Tigers have worked all through the preseason to get to this point, and all the work has paid off.
“It feels great,” Hay said. “We’ve been working all summer and fall for this. We’re privileged to be able to experience this as a first-year program, and with all the athletes we have. They make it all worth it.”
Werden caught two scoring throws from Wallace, from 40 and 12 yards, while Shapiro had a five-yard scoring reception, and Gabby Thompson caught a two-point convert pass for the Tigers’ score. The defense also shut down a high-powered East Side offense to get the shutout win.
Both Edwardsville and East Side now go into the IHSA post season, with the Tigers copping the fourth seed in the Danville sectional complex, and the Flyers getting the number three seed.
Edwardsville opens its postseason chase at the Mahomet-Seymour regional near Champaign, where they’ll play Urbana Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. The winner goes on to a semifinal game against the winner of the host Bulldogs and Champaign Centennial on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The winner of the second semifinal meets the first semifinal winner, top-seeded Belleville East, Peoria, or Danville, in the final Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.
Hay doesn’t mind the long trip to Mahomet for the regional games, despite it being two-and-a-half hours away from Edwardsville.
“It’s a mindset,” Hay said. “Football is football, whether it’s here or two hours away. We’re ready for the challenge.”
Meanwhile, the Flyers will play in the Mascoutah regional, where East Side meets the winner of Peoria Manuel or the host Indians on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The winner goes on to the final on Wednesday against Champaign Central, Belleville West, or second seed Peoria Richwoods in a game that starts at 6 p.m.
The regional winners move on to the Danville sectional, where the Mascoutah winner plays the Mahomet-Seymour winner Oct. 13 at 5 p.m., while the Kankakee regional winner plays the Romeoville regional winner in the second semifinal at 6:30 p.m. The semifinal winners play for a berth in the state finals Oct.14 at 6 p.m.
The Danville sectional winner plays in the state quarterfinals against the Richton Park Rich Township sectional winner at Villa Park Willowbrook High School on Oct. 17 at 5:45 p.m. The state semifinals are set on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., the third-place game will be played at 2:30 p.m., and the state final is set for 4 p.m. 
