EDWARDSVILLE — The Edwardsville Tiger football team has many weapons at their disposal offensively. Two of their key components had big games Friday night at Tiger Stadium.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Running back Antonio Thigpen, Jr. scored four touchdowns — the first two in a ten-second span in the first quarter — while wide receiver Joe King caught a touchdown pass as the Tigers won big 52-7 Friday night over Granite City.
“We went out there, we did our jobs pretty much the whole game,” King said in a post-game interview, “came out executing our offense, held our own on defense.”
King feels the Tigers’ performance reflects the way they practice every day.
“Most definitely,” King said. “We always practice with a high tempo, but we expect it to translate over into the game, which it did today.”
Thigpen sees himself as a player who’s helping the team while another key player is out of the lineup.
“I’m just fulfilling the running back spot for my teammates,” Thigpen said. “We lost our starting running back, Dionte Rodgers, so I’m just doing it for my team.”
And although Thigpen scored his first two touchdowns in that ten second span, he feels that it was the defense who set the tone for the game.
“Before the game, our coach told us that we need to make turnovers on special teams and defense,” Thigpen said, “because the last two games, we didn’t have any turnovers. So, they came out, and they did what he said. And our offense executed, got me the ball, and I just ran it in for touchdowns.”
Thigpen gave credit to his offensive line, which opened the holes for him in the opening term.
“I thank my offensive line a lot,” Thigpen said. “I can’t do it without those guys. They work very hard, so I’ve got to work hard right behind them.”
And for the Tigers to get the first win after a tough three-game opening stretch is a big thing, indeed.
“We had a really tough three games,” King said. “But we seem to be bouncing back from this. We just continue to keep the momentum through this the rest of the season.”
“We had some tough games.” Thigpen said. “We were playing some big boys our first three games. But I think we should be good for the rest of the season. Everybody, they’re going to try and put up a fight. But we’re going to execute.”
“Everybody on our conference is capable of putting up a good game with us,” King said. “But if we go out there and play the ball game that we’re supposed to, it’s going to be good.
“We just got to continue to work each and every day, and get better,” King also said.
And by the time the season reaches is conclusion and heads into the postseason, you can expect both Joe King and Antonio Thigpen, Jr. to make major contributions to the Tigers’ success.
