EDWARDSVILLE - Maksine Straub scored three touchdowns, two by receptions, and one by an interception return, while quarterback Ella Wallace tossed for six scores, as Edwardsville defeated Alton 52-0 in the girls flag football home opener for the Tigers Tuesday night, Sept. 1, 2026, at Tiger Stadium.
Edwardsville went to 3-0 on the season, all three being Southwestern Conference wins over Mascoutah 20-19 and East St. Louis 12-6, both wins on the road. The Redbirds, playing their inaugural season, fell to 0-3, but have shown improvement from game to game.
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There is plenty of potential and much to like about the Redbirds, and Edwardsville coach Taylor Hay praised their efforts on the evening.
"They did a lot of great things," Coach Hay said. "I think offensively and defensively, they had some good schemes. I think once they get a couple of years under their belt, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, I'm sure. Alton traditionally has a lot of great athletes, so I'm excited to see what they build in Alton."
The future is indeed looking bright for both the Redbirds program and the sport of girls flag football itself, and the numbers statewide continue to grow.
"Oh, 100 percent," Hay said. "I think this year in Illinois, there's 225 teams, and next year, they're hoping to have 250, and divide it into classes. So, that'll be great. I'm so happy with that."
Coach Hay was pleased with how things have worked out, despite some early-season difficulty the Tigers have experienced.
"Well, yes and no," Hay said. "The last couple of games, we struggled to kind of connect offensively, and the first game, the defense struggled, and the second game, the offense struggled, so this game, it was nice to kind of get a rhythm. We needed that, especially when we have games back-to=back. We don't get practice time, and tomorrow, the heat's going to affect practice. So, it was nice to kind of get some work tonight, to be able to connect tonight."
The Tigers are now 3-0, and Hay sees much to be happy about with her team, and is looking ahead to the upcoming challenges.
"We play Belleville East on Thursday," Hay said. "So, it was nice to get three games under our belt before we see Belleville East on Thursday."
She does feel good about the road ahead for her club.
The Redbirds have already come a long way in such a short time, and there's much to look forward to as Alton makes progress with their club.
"I'm just proud of these girls," said Redbird head coach Nic Bradshaw. "Our goal right now isn't the scoreboard. It's the little things along the way, trying to get first downs, trying to get stops, get tackles in the backfield, running the routes the right way, learning the rules of the game. And we have come a long way, even if the scoreboard says 52-0, from game one to game three. I'm really proud of our girls on how we've held ourselves and played whistle to whistle."
After getting the ball on an interception, the Tigers struck first on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Serena Shapiro to go in front 7-0 early in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, Straub picked off a pass and took it in from five yards out to give Edwardsville a 13-0 lead after the conversion pass missed.
Later on in the second, Wallace connected with Jada Donaldson from 20 yards out to make the score 20-0, and nearing the end of the first half, Sophie Antonini went on a 33-yard run for another touchdown to make the score 27-0 for the Tigers at halftime.
Alton did have the ball deep in Edwardsville territory a couple of times in the game, especially after a 79-yard run by quarterback Mariah Taylor put the ball on the Edwardsville two. But the Redbirds were turned back by the Tigers' defense each time.
In the third quarter, Straub caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Wallace to make it 33-0, then in the fourth quarter, caught another pass from Wallace, this from 30 yards out, to make it 40-0, and trigger the running clock rule. Tatum Brown caught the final two touchdown passes, from two and 15 yards out, to make the final 52-0, the second pass coming on the final play of the game.
The Tigers are now 3-0, and play at Belleville East on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., then host Hillsboro in their first non-conference game of the season on Monday, Labor Day, at 7 p.m., and play at Carbondale Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
