Tigers Score 21 Points In First Quarter, Curry Throws For Three Touchdowns, Runs For Two As Edwardsville Thumps Maroons 70-0

EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville quarterback Jake Curry ran for the first two touchdowns of the game, then threw for three more and Dalton Brown took an interception back 35 yards for another touchdown as the Tigers defeated Belleville West 70-0 in a Southwestern Conference football game Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

Edwardsville scored 21 points in first quarter in building a 56-0 halftime lead, which triggered the second half running clock rule, then added on two more scores in the final two periods to go on to the win. The lopsided score allowed the Tigers to play the entire roster who dressed, and all performed well.

"Yeah, for us, I thought our sidelines energy was good," said Edwardsville head coach Matt Martin. "Those starters really enjoyed watching those other kids play and I'm sure their parents did, too."

For the players on the roster, seeing the game action is a great reward for all of their hard work in practice.

"Yeah, you know what? It's not always fair," Martin said. "Life's not fair, football's not always fair. Sometimes, I have kids that I'm very, very fond of that get very little playing time. And so, they go through all the hard work, but their butts, in some cases, they even work harder, they're just not one of the better players. So for them to get a chance to play, it was fun for the staff and the kids."

Brown's interception return for the touchdown was the highlight of a great defensive performance by the Tigers, who forced five Maroon turnovers during the game.

"Yeah, it felt good," Martin said. "That was one of our goals. I think we had lost the turnover battle in three of four games. We were just like 'let's go, what is it?' A lack of focus, lack of hustle, I don't know? Bad luck, but let's go get some."

Quarterback Michael Hedge and running back Patrick Chism also made great contributions for the Tigers during the game.

"The O line was good," Martin said, "Hedge made some good decisions, Chism made some good reads, some good cuts and he got rewarded for it."

The Tigers' first-team offense also performed exceptionally well.

"Yeah, not too many negatives, isn't it?" Martin said. "It's a pretty cut-and-dry article," he said with a smile and laugh.

Another player who did well was receiver Joey DeMare, who made a big catch during the second Edwardsville drive and also caught a touchdown pass from Curry. Martin praised him and the other bench players who came in during the game highly.

"Yeah, he made some big plays," Martin said. "I'm happy for him. You know, I think those kids, I think we've got some playmakers; they need to be patient. Sometimes, some games come to you, some don't. But we have enough weapons that you'll get your time, you'll get your chance as the season goes on."

The Tigers took charge on their opening drive, going 90 yards in seven plays, climaxing with Curry's first touchdown of the game, a five-yard run on the left side that gave Edwardsville a 7-0 lead after Tyler Dacus' conversion. After an exchange of punts, Curry scored again on a 10-yard run with 1:32 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0.

Curry then hit DeMare on a 57-yard strike with six seconds left in the opening term to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead at quarter time, then after recovering a fumble early in the second, Curry connected with Kellen Brnfre from six yards out to give Edwardsville a 28-0 lead. After a bad snap on a fourth-down punt by the Maroons, Curry hit Kristopher Crosby from four yards out in the end zone with 9:07 left in the first half, making it 35-0 for the Tigers.

Edwardsville held West on the next possession to take over on downs and on the first play, Chism went right and got a big block downfield, going 63 yards for another touchdown to make it 42-0. On the next Maroon possession, Brown intercepted a pass, went left and ran it back 35 yards for another score with 5:35 left in the first half to make it 49-0. The final score in the half came with 2:50 left, when Chism made a great run up the middle 20 yards for the touchdown that gave the Tigers a 56-0 lead at halftime, setting up the running clock in the second half.

The Tigers got two more scores on the night, with Hedge running in from five yards out with 7:22 left in the third to make it 63-0, then got the final score of the night from Chism, who went 71 yards up the left side with 9:11 left in the game to give the Tigers their 70-0 win.

Edwardsville is now 4-1 on the season and travels to Alton for a week six game next Friday night at Public School Stadium, with the kickoff coming at 7 p.m. Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

More like this: