Chargers drop opener at Firelands

HENRIETTA TWP. — Edison pulled back within four late in Saturday's first quarter after a rough first five or so minutes to the season. It looked like the Chargers had righted the ship. But then Firelands scored 22 of the next 27 points to spoil any hopes of a comeback. "They started hitting a lot of shots, and we did not," Edison coach Dan Campana said. "They were on fire and did a good job of finding the open person... You don't plan for a team to be that much on fire the entire game." Edison actually outscored the Falcons in the second half, but it was too late in a 56-37 Firelands victory. It marked a defeat for Edison in its first game under new head coach Campana, who was a long-time assistant with the program. "We learned a lot as a team tonight, and I'm excited about that moving forward from this," Campana said. "Sometimes you've got to be slapped in the face to really figure it out." Firelands burst out of the gates to a 17-6 lead, but then Edison answered with a 7-0 run. Cole Leimeister hit a 3, Grayson Smith finished inside and Luke Blatnik hit a pull-up jumper. The Falcons' Max Stinson swished a 3-pointer at the first-quarter horn to go up 20-13, and then the Falcons outscored Edison 19-5 in the second quarter. They used a 1-2-2 halfcourt trap to make life difficult on Edison. "That kind of rattled us a little bit in how they pressured the guards up top so much, because they weren't doing that before," Campana said. "That's part of the learning process." The Chargers managed the various pressure looks from Firelands better in the second half, usually with Grayson Smith bringing the ball up the floor. He finished with eight points. "He was getting bumped and knocked around and playing through it," Campana said. "That's what I want these guys to understand is that the game doesn't stop when it doesn't go your way." Blatnik scored five of his nine points after the break, including a strong and-1 floater through contact. An 11-5 fourth-quarter edge gave the Chargers a few positive vibes heading into a quick turnaround. "We rebounded at halftime and talked and came out with a better mental attitude," Campana said. "... We did a great job in the second half of coming together more and being patient with each other." Edison hosts New London on Monday in what will be the home opener for the Chargers. The Wildcats lost 58-28 to Wellington on Saturday. Maybe more practice time would be useful for Edison at this stage following an abbreviated preseason after a football playoff run, but the Chargers — who then go to Bucyrus Wynford on Dec. 8 — will instead get right back out there seeking to turn one good half into two. "We're gonna play a lot of tough games," Campana said. "When shots start falling, the energy will turn and we'll play a lot differently." EDISON (0-1) Cole Leimeister 1-0—3, Grayson Smith 4-0—8, Davin Wendt 1-0—3, Zach Rang 0-3—3, Kayden Bourget 2-3—7, Luke Whiley 1-0—2, Luke Blatnik 3-3—9, Lucas Langhals 1-0—2. TOTALS 13-9—37. FIRELANDS (1-1) Chris Radman 2-0—4, Niko Gotsis 3-0—6, Nick Dunfee 4-0—12, Max Stinson 2-0—5, Nathaniel Duke 1-0—2, Jim Aunspaw 2-8—12, Nate Draga 6-0—15. TOTALS 20-8—56. Edison 13 5 8 11 — 37Firelands 20 19 12 5 — 56 3-point FGs: (E) Leimeister, Wendt; (F) Dunfee 4, Draga 3, Stinson.