EDWARDSVILLE - Tim Schilbe, a talented offensive and defensive lineman for the Metro-East Lutheran High football team, has high hopes as the squad nears the postseason.
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MELHS head football coach Tim Koch said Schilbe is such a pivotal person for his 6-2 overall squad.
"Tim is our center and is a top defensive lineman," Coach Koch said. "He has been steady and has started since he was a freshman. He is a very dependable player; he has only missed two games in his entire high school career. He makes the line calls at the center position. He is an unsung hero of the team. I can't say enough positive things about Tim."
In a previous interview, Schilbe said he felt good about the turnout numbers this year for the team and the playoff outlook.
"We had good numbers coming out, and people have been energetic and they want to be here," he said. "We have great coaching, I feel like we're just building off last year, and have been ready to go."
Schilbe is a BJ's Printables Male Athlete of the Month for the Knights.
Schilbe praised the coaching staff for their efforts and said MELHS has had an excellent turnout for football this year.
He said the Knights are hungry for the playoffs with six wins on the season and only two losses.
"Obviously, we're hurt by that last loss last season," Schilbe said. "We're hungry for more, obviously. We now think we can go deep in the playoffs."
Other than returning to the postseason, Schilbe has other goals and aspirations for himself and the team this season.
"The school has never won a playoff game," Schilbe said, "and I think that'll be a great thing for the student body. We've been really kind of rebuilding this program. I think that's been the overarching goal of my career.
"I came in, we weren't great, and now, I feel like we're very strong. Our motto is 'unfinished business.' That leaves a lot for us this year, that means a lot to us. We just want to continue what we started, and put some Ws on the board."
And although there are three fewer men on both sides of the ball, and the field is narrower than a standard-size field, the game is still American football at its heart, and it's very important to Schilbe.
"Yeah, football's football," Schilbe said. "You're still hitting people, you've still got the same pads on, it's still the same concepts. It's to help schools and programs out that don't have the numbers necessarily for a full 11-man squad. It's a great way to just get some football in for smaller private schools, smaller public schools, and such."
