Edmonds brothers give Bulldogs bite

Waukegan quarterback MarQuezie Edmonds takes the snap in the Bulldogs' season opener against Romeoville.
(Annie Christie/For the News-Sun)

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WAUKEGAN -- "Edmonds to Edmonds."

Those names boomed over the Weiss Field loudspeaker system nine times during Saturday's opening game of Waukegan High's 2008 football season.

Get used to it. You'll be hearing the phrase repeatedly this grid season.

The Bulldogs lost a tough one to visiting Romeoville 29-28, but the brother-to-brother passing combo accounted for 104 yards and three touchdowns.

Both had stellar campaigns last season, as the resurgent Dogs finished 5-4, missing the playoffs via a tiebreaker formula. Mar'Quezie, who completed more than 70 percent of his passes, racked up the county's second-best total in passing yardage, despite missing two games to injury, and Mar'Quon led Waukegan in receptions.

Still, they might be the best-kept secret, talent-wise, in the state, according to Waukegan head coach Pat Jennings. "Neither of them has a concrete offer (for a college scholarship) despite the fact that both are top-100 players in the state of Illinois," said Jennings, who praised Mar'Quon's pass-catching abilities and went a step farther when talking about the quarterbacking older brother.

"I was a defensive coach for Thornridge High School when Thornton had Antwaan Randle El," Jennings said about the elusive, fleet-footed quarterback who starred at Indiana University and now plays wide receiver for the Washington Redskins of the NFL. "Mar'Quezie (whose escapability mirrors Randle El's) is better as a high-school player."

Jennings expects the scholarship offers to pick up, with a number of schools requesting game film from the first three Waukegan contests.

Mar'Quezie's height (5-foot-11) works against him as a college quarterback, the coach noted. Ironically, Mar'Quon, younger by 10 months, stands taller at 6-2. (Randle El, is 5-10).

At the prep level, the receiver's added height lends itself for their favorite pattern -- the fade route in the corner of the end zone. Mar'Quon snatched the high lob for one of his three TDs Saturday.

"That seems to work," said Mar'Quezie, smiling.

Mar'Quezie was held back in school one year by his parents so that the close-knit brothers could be in the same class. The two expressed a desire to remain together at the next educational level.

"But if we have to go to different schools, we will," said Mar'Quon, who expressed no specific preferences for the next level (Mar'Quezie likes Northwestern and Purdue). Both want to play at the Division I level.

Both brothers carry better than "B" averages, and along with George Papandreou, are captains on the team.

"They're the kind of leaders any football team wants to have," said Jennings. "They're both great, great kids who come from a great family. Mar'Quezie, especially, amazes me in how mature he is and how much he knows about the game of football."

The true understanding surrounding this year's team is that anything other than a playoff berth would result in a failed season, and both brothers recognize as much.

When pressed, however, Mar'Quezie said he would like to throw for 2,500 yards and rush for 1,500 this season, while Mar'Quon, who also plays on the other side of the ball when needed, would like to register 600 yards worth of receptions and score 12 times.

"But what we really want to do," said Mar'Quon, "is make everybody in the school and the community proud of our team."

THE EDMONDS FILE

2007 STATISTICS

• Mar'Quezie (passing) -- 76 for 106, 1,182 yards, 14 touchdowns, 6 interceptions

• Mar'Quon (receiving) -- 23 catches for 382 yards

2008 STATISTICS

Last Week vs. Romeoville
• Mar'Quizie's's passes to Mar'Quon -- 11 yards, 5 yards, 14 yards (touchdown), 5 yards, 33 yards (touchdown), 11 yards, 11 yards, 13 yards (touchdown), 1 yard.

What's in a name?

According to the brothers, their first names have no particular family history or meaning.

"It was just my mom being creative," said Mar'Quezie.

Their middle names -- McKinnie for Mar'Quon and McKinvie for Mar'Quezie -- are derivative of their father Mark's middle name, which is McKinley.

Mar'Quezie, who is called "Quezie" by his friends and teammates, said that he researched the nickname on the internet.

"In Swahili," he said, "It means 'rising star.' "

Mar'Quon said he did a similar search.

"I didn't come up with anything," he admitted.

FAST FACTS

• The Edmonds brothers played their youth football in the North Chicago Flames system. A relative, they explained, was a coach there.

• Mar'Quon was originally the quarterback in the family, with Mar'Quezie as tailback.

• During their freshman year at Waukegan High, both played quarterback -- Mar'Quon on the "B" team.

• Both played varsity ball as sophomores, with Mar'Quezie starting a number of games at quarterback and Mar'Quon switching to wide receiver, where he was the team's second-leading receiver. PREP FOOTBALL Friday