KIRKWOOD, Mo. – Justin Johnson, Jr. scored three touchdowns on short runs, Ethan Young returned an interception for a touchdown, and Kenyon Johnson ran a kickoff back for another score as Edwardsville won their final regular-season game, getting ready for the IHSA football playoffs with a 51-20 win over St. John Vianney Catholic Friday night at Vianney High School in Kirkwood.

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The Tigers took a 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, then scored again on the second play from scrimmage in the second half, and never looked back in their win.

The Tigers struck first late in the first quarter when quarterback Ryan Hampton ran six yards for the first touchdown with 2:13 to go in the first quarter, with Eric Epenesa’s convert good for a 7-0 lead. Johnson then scored his first touchdown of the night from 12 yards out, the extra point being good 1:31 from halftime to give Edwardsville the 14-0 halftime lead.

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On that second play in the second half, Young intercepted a Golden Griffin pass and returned it 25 yards for the touchdown, but the conversion was missed, leaving the score 20-0 very early in the third quarter.

Josh Klein later recovered a fumble for the Tigers, but on the very next play, Hampton was intercepted and returned for a Vianney touchdown with 9:05 left in the third quarter. The Griffins missed the conversion, leaving the score 20-6.

The Tigers got the touchdown back on the very next possession, going down the field quickly, with Johnson scoring his second touchdown of the evening on a four-yard run with 7:45 left to advance the Edwardsville lead to 27-6. Later in the period, Johnson scored for the third time in the game, this time from two yards out with the convert being good for a 34-6 Tiger lead with 2:11 left in the third.

The Griffins scored again early on in the final quarter, but on the ensuing kickoff, Kenyon Johnson took the ball and returned it 75 yards for the touchdown, with the conversion being good, putting Edwardsville up by 41-13. Another Vianney touchdown and an Epenesa field goal made the score 44-20 with 5:07 left in the game, and Torrance Johnson scored the game’s final touchdown on a nifty 40-yard run with 1:44 left to make the final 51-20 score for the Tigers.

The Golden Griffins end their season 1-8, while the Tigers go up to 7-2, and await who their first opponent will be in the IHSA playoffs. Their opponent and site will be announced, along with the other pairings in all eight classes, tomorrow night in a live show starting at 8 p.m., and broadcast statewide on the newly-revived IHSA Television Network, and locally on KPLR-TV 11. It will be the first program on the IHSA Television Network after its reformation, the IHSA ending its partnership with the NBC Sports Chicago cable channel.

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