Edison falls to playoff heavyweight Coldwater

FINDLAY — Coldwater has been one of the best football programs in Ohio for a long time. Looks like 2023 is just more of the same. The Cavaliers rolled to a 42-7 win over Edison in a Division V Region 18 regional semifinal Friday night at Donnell Stadium. It was Coldwater's 34th playoff win in the last 10 seasons. The Cavaliers (12-1) were stopped only by the clock at the end of the first and second halves. Otherwise, they scored. Against a Chargers team that held nine opponents to single digits this season. "It's not how I envisioned it," Edison coach Jim Hall said. "But we didn't drive the ball like we needed to. We needed to use our offense to keep their offense off the field. We didn't do that. We turned the ball over in the first half and didn't give ourselves a chance in the second half." Any chance Edison (11-2) had ended when the Chargers stalled on two long drives deep in Coldwater territory. After Coldwater scored on its opening drive, Edison answered with an 11-play drive highlighted by Marcus Medina's 7-yard run on fourth-and-1 and Medina's 31-yard pass to Grayson Smith. But the Chargers turned it over on downs when Medina threw incomplete on fourth-and-8 from the Cavaliers' 23-yard line. The Cavaliers took a 14-0 lead when Braylen Harlamert took a swing pass from Baylen Blockberger and side-stepped a defender on his way to a 25-yard touchdown play on the final play of the first quarter. Edison answered with its only scoring drive, covering 54 yards on 10 plays. Cy Finnen's 30-yard run was the big play, and Finnen scored on a fourth-down run from the Coldwater 1-yard line to make it 14-7. That was as close as the Chargers would get. On Coldwater's first play on its next drive, Blockberger hit A.J. Harlamert on a 55-yard pass play and Jack Ebbing scored on a 4-yard run. A.J. Harlamert finished with four catches for 119 yards. On Edison's next possession, an interception by Coldwater rover Mason Welsch was returned 37 yards and the Cavs quickly scored to make it 28-7. "They played hard, they played fast," Hall said of Coldwater. "We didn't execute at quite the level we can, but they were aggressive attacking. I give them credit. We didn't make the plays we needed to make." Any chance Edison had to get back in it dissolved late in the first half. The Chargers put together a nice drive, moving 63 yards in 11 plays. But with time running out, Medina clocked the ball twice and Coldwater stuffed Edison's run on fourth-and-1 at the Cavs' 19. "If you can stop the run, or at least slow them and make them work, then you got a shot at getting them stopped," Coldwater coach Chip Otten said. In the middle of it all was junior linebacker Cody Depweg, who finished with 10 tackles and showed why he was the Midwest Athletic Conference defensive player of the year. The Chargers managed 165 yards on 35 carries and had 223 total yards, but only one touchdown. Finnen had 15 carries for 69 yards and Medina carried 10 times for 50 yards. The Cavaliers handled the triple option after not seeing it at all this season. "Our defense stayed disciplined and did our jobs," Depweg said. "We don't get too nosey because when they run that option there's a lot of stuff that goes on there. We shut them down. They had a lot of good players, but we took them out of it. We played a very good game. "The coaches prepare us every week and it's on us to take what they have and execute. But, yeah, I've never seen the triple option in my life." Coldwater finished with 369 total yards and Blockberger was 8-for-8 passing for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Four Cavs running backs managed at least 37 yards on the ground, and Coldwater did not have a single negative play on offense. "Our runs were basically three plays. A lot of those are RPOs (run-pass option)," Otten said. "If Bay thinks they're loaded in the box, we throw it. If they widen out, we run it. That's been a good play for us with this style of defense." Coldwater, the No. 6 seed in Region 18, advances to challenge top-seeded Liberty Center in a big-time regional final matchup. The Cavs lost 34-0 to LC in the third round last year. Liberty Center finished ranked No. 2 in the final Associated Press state poll, while Coldwater was fourth. The Cavs will be underdogs, but they won't flinch. "The MAC is hard. It prepares you for tough games," Depweg said. "Parents of every single school raise their kids the right way. People care about football so much. The whole of Mercer County is so tight, even if you're not at the same school." Edison, the No. 2 seed in the region, gave up more than 20 points in a game for only the second time this season. Bryson Wittmer led Edison with nine tackles and Blake Simon added eight. Finnen and Grayson Smith each had six stops. It was the final game for five Edison seniors: Medina, Simon, Gavin O'Dell, Carson Smith and Kaden Neate. Hall congratulated his team in the postgame huddle and urged them to consider the season they enjoyed together. "They won a championship and got our towns excited," Hall said. "There was great enthusiasm for them. They left a mark on our program and on the history of our school. They need to know that, but it's gonna take a little time before they understand that." Coldwater 14 14 14 0 — 42Edison 0 7 0 0 — 7 Scoring COL — A.J. Harlamert 29 pass from Baylen Blockberger (Bryce Couchot kick) COL — Braylen Harlamert 25 pass from Blockberger (Couchot kick) EDI — Cy Finnen 1 run (Alex Davidson kick) COL — Jack Ebbing 4 run (Couchot kick) COL — Miles Pottkotter 3 run (Couchot kick) COL — Ebbing 3 run (Couchot kick) COL — Pottkotter 10 run (Couchot kick)