Lyzale Edmon remembers it well. As he started his sophomore year on the Bradley-Bourbonnais JV football team a little over two years ago, it didn’t take long for members of the varsity coaching staff to start asking him how he felt about a possible promotion to the varsity team.

A few weeks into the season, Edmon was brought from the south side of the game field at Doug “Barc” Barclay Memorial Stadium to the north side, where the varsity team prepared for battle.

“I felt a lot of pressure,” Edmon said. “As a sophomore, I was on JV at first, but didn’t really want to go on varsity. (The coaches) kept encouraging me to go up to varsity, and then one practice they just moved me up. All my closest friends were still with the JV, and I’m on varsity with all these big guys around me.

“A couple of weeks later we go to Lincoln-Way East, they’re ranked No. 4 in the state, and I’m in the game. I’d never seen so many people at a game. I got a pick that game, so after that I felt free and felt free ever since.”

Edmon found his rhythm that year as a cornerback and special teams star, displaying game-breaking potential down the stretch run, including a punt-return touchdown in an eventual overtime loss to Normal Community in the second round of the IHSA Class 7A playoffs.

Two years later, Edmon’s a back-to-back Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-State first-team selection and the 2025 Daily Journal Player of the Year.

He became a three-way star, turning heads with an eye-popping offensive statline of 49 catches for 828 yards and 16 touchdowns this fall, giving him 79 catches for 1,324 yards and 24 touchdowns for his career and putting him in the top 10 of every school career and single-season receiving record. He added three more interceptions for a career total of eight and had a pair of special teams touchdowns, giving him six overall.

But those aren’t the stats or numbers Edmon wants as the most memorable part of his Boilermaker legacy. He’s most proud of the team’s 25-9 record over the past three years, including at least one playoff win in three straight postseasons for the first time in school history.

“A lot of people say I’m built off my genetics, but it’s really not just that,” Edmon said. “I really worked hard, and I’m glad it paid off, leaving as one of the greats at BBCHS. … I hope people remember me as a player that wanted to see everyone win. I wanted to see everyone win and care about everyone."

Those who point to genetics can’t be blamed for doing so. Edmon’s brother Ky’ren, a sophomore, inherited a spot in the Boilers backfield from Day 1 of his freshman year and finished 2025 as the team’s leading rusher with 892 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The brothers spent last summer attending college camps and making visits together, with Lyzale receiving interest from several NCAA Division I programs. But it was Division II Pittsburg State (Kansas) where Lyzale felt most at home and the most love.

“They gave me so much love,” Edmon said. “Talking since the start of summer, they offered me right away, liked the skill and what I do on both sides of the ball. I finally got down there, and they gave me so much love. It felt like home. The stadium was great, the weight room was great, everything was great.”

But with baby brother in Boilers Red and White for two more years and plenty of close friends still around as well, a piece of Edmon will forever remain at Bradley-Bourbonnais.

“I love this program so much,” Edmon said. “Everything they’ve done for me and my family for the past four years, put me to the next level. All the glory I’ve got from this program and area, I appreciate it so much.”