BELLEVILLE - Edwardsville High School sophomore wide receiver Kellen Brnfre had a big game for the Tigers in their 45-21 win over Belleville East Oct. 9 at Charlie Woodford Field, running for four touchdowns, including a dazzling 71-yard punt return, and throwing a touchdown pass to Michael Hedge as the Tigers clinched another winning season, going to 5-2 on the season.
Brnfre has emerged as a key part of the Tigers' offense, both running and receiving, catching 12 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns while running for 51 yards and another touchdown. He also has an interception while playing in the defensive backfield.
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For his efforts on the field thus far in the season, Brnfre has been named one of the iCAN Clinic Male Athletes of the Month for Edwardsville High School.
Brnfre, who plays for head coach Matt Martin, was feeling very good after the win over the Lancers.
"I"m feeling good," Brnfre said in a postgame interview. "We just started to come out and execute and win, and that's what we did on both sides of the ball."
The Tigers played exceptionally well in the first half in jumping to a 28-0 lead, climaxed by Brnfre's punt return touchdown, where he let the ball roll before picking it up and ran into the end zone untouched, going past a group of startled East defenders on his way to the end zone.
"We practice "PeterPeterPeter" in practice," Brnfre said. "I called it, I saw people get out of the way, so I grabbed the ball and ran as fast as I could. And then, ultimately scored."
The other three touchdowns came as Brnfre followed his good blocking to the end zone.
"I just followed my guys, followed my blockers," Brnfre said, "and finding the end zone. It's easy to do that when everybody's blocking."
The Tigers played very well overall, and have clinched their winning season with two games to go, both at home and both very tough assignments ahead. Edwardsville plays East St. Louis on Oct. 15, then winds up against CBC on Oct. 22. Brnfre knows that he and his teammates will be ready for the challenges.
"We just want to do the same thing that we did today," Brnfre said. "We do the same thing that we did today, and we'll be fine, and we'll come out with the win in both games and go to the playoffs."
The IHSA Class 8A playoffs are set to begin the weekend of Oct. 29-30, and Brnfre knows that anything can happen, and many good things can happen as well.
"Yep, the sky's the limit," Brnfre said. "We've got two more seasons."
Brnfre thanked his blockers up front for helping him score his touchdowns and for getting the job done against the Lancers.
"I'd just like to thank my teammates for blocking," Brnfre said, "and just coming out here and getting this done."
Riverbender.com's Athlete of the Month program is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors and the cooperation of our area high schools. This is a great accomplishment and one to be very proud of. Please join us in congratulating this young athlete. We at Riverbender.com wish you continued success in your future!
