A very successful week one is behind Edwardsville Football, and they now face a tough test in week two.

The Tigers will travel across the river on Aug. 31 to face Christian Brothers College, last year’s Missouri class 6A state champion.

Last year Edwardsville held a 16-14 lead against CBC at the half but ended up falling short to the Cadets 40-19 after being outscored 26-3 in the second half.

“Most games come down to four or five plays,” head coach Matt Martin said to the Post-Dispatch after last year’s game. “They didn’t have any (turnovers). You have to give them credit. To beat a team like that we’re definitely going to have to win the turnover battle.”

CBC is currently ranked No. 1 by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Big School Rankings and Edwardsville is far behind at No. 3.

Last week the Tigers came out with a shocking 63-0 victory over McCluer North. Senior All-State quarterback Kendall Abdur-Rahman had five touchdowns and the Tigers forced five turnovers while rushing for 313 yards.

“The kids did good and executed pretty well,” Martin said to the Intelligencer. “A lot of kids got to play. There were a lot of positives.”

But on Friday, it won’t be that easy.

CBC’s defense allowed 14.3 points per game last year and outscored their opponents by a combined 398 points.

The Cadets also return senior quarterback Brett Gabbert who threw for 2862 yards last year with a completion rate of 70 percent.

“We know as a defense we have a big task ahead of us,” senior linebacker Ryan Strohmeier said. “We’re always ready for a challenge.”

Abdur-Rahman concurred and said even though CBC is a tough team they will be prepared after a good week of practice.

“It’s going to be neck and neck the whole game and it will come down to who makes the least mistakes,” Abdur-Rahman said. “I can’t wait.”