EDWARDSVILLE – The football season for Edwardsville's Dionte Rodgers ended with him accomplishing a school record 25 touchdowns and a total of 1,284 yards overall rushing in 2016, quite a break out year for the young sophomore.
Rodgers had his final touchdown of the season Saturday afternoon in Edwardsville's 38-21 loss in the IHSA Class 8A quarterfinals at Tiger Stadium
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“They [Glenbard West] are a great team, and we're a great team,” Rodgers said following the game. “We were competing to get to the next round of the playoffs and they got the job done and we didn't. We'll be back.
“It was a blessing to have had the season I had this year, but without my team, my offensive line, I wouldn't be able to do any of that. I thank them and the coaching staff for a great year.”
Rodgers' breakout game came in Week 2 against Rock Island when he ran for 295 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-27 win over the Rocks at home, including a long run of 71 yards. He set the single-season touchdown record with a 203-yard, three-touchdown performance against Alton in Week 8.
Rodgers' emergence came at the same time that Granite City's Freddy Edwards came on the scene and helped the Warriors get into playoff contention going into the final week of the regular season. Both Rodgers and Edwards arguably became the SWC's two most exciting young players this season.
“Edwards is a great player,” Rodgers said. “I feel like he can do a lot of big things for this conference like he did this year as a freshman; as long as he keeps striving for greatness, he should be all right.”
Rodgers himself is already looking forward to the 2017 season. “I'm already looking ahead,” Rodgers said. “I'm not trying to rush it, but we're ready.”
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