All-American Cleaning & Restoration Athlete of the Week – Will Thompson – Oct. 8, 2026

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho Falls Tigers quarterback Will Thompson is our All-American Cleaning & Restoration Athlete of the Week following his performance in the Tigers' Emotion Bowl win over Skyline last Saturday night.

Thompson led the team with key plays on the ground and through the air, and finished with 3 total touchdowns - 1 passing and 2 rushing. Idaho Falls head coach Dustin Medellin highlighted Thompson's playmaking ability against a "fast defense" as a key factor in securing the win.

Reflecting on the victory, Thompson shared his reaction as the clock hit 0 after he took a knee on the final play of the game. “It was an amazing feeling. I feel like maybe one of the best I've ever had during football season,” Thompson said.

Medellin praised his quarterback's ability to improvise and make plays against a challenging Skyline defense. “He needed to make big plays, especially with his legs. [Skyline's] defense is really fast. They're really tough to get a lot of success against. He did a great job with his legs and then making plays with his arm when he needed to,” Medellin said.

Thompson attributed the victory to sharp execution from the entire team throughout the game and strong play from the offensive line. “I think what went right is we executed on plays when we needed to execute, big plays, big downs. We executed, we controlled the ball. I think we had good push up front for most of the game, and I think that was awesome,” Thompson said.

Medellin expressed hope that the game will serve as a building block for Thompson as we come down the stretch of the high school football season. “Well, I think that's the guy that we knew he could be. Hopefully it just gives him that confidence that every week he can have a performance like that regardless of the opponent,” Medellin said. He added, “You know, as things get down to the nitty-gritty here at the end, we need this team to believe that they can overcome any obstacle and that [Thompson] can get us where we need to be.”

Following Saturday's victory, the Tigers turned their attention toward their upcoming game against Hillcrest. Preparations and game planning began Monday.

“That was an awesome game that we got to win. But we got to move on to the next one. I think that's kind of been the motto all year. It's like whether things go right, things go wrong. It's next week, new game,” Thompson said.

The Emotion Bowl was on Saturday, and usually most teams play their football on Friday night, meaning the team lost 1 day of prep for their next match-up. Coach Medellin explained what their week looked like, and how the players are feeling. “We were right back into game planning for Hillcrest. We were ready for install on Monday, and they're focused on Friday night's game.” Thompson added, “People are really focused on this week. We know they're a good team. We're going to have to come out and play good. But I think we have the ability to do that.”