Edison steadily pulls away from St. Paul

NORWALK — St. Paul gave itself a chance early. But once a team like Edison gets it going, its hard to stop. The Chargers scored four times in the second quarter, then needed just one play into the third quarter for a fifth score in Friday's 41-2 win over the Flyers at Contractors Stadium in Norwalk. St. Paul (0-2) was able to use nearly six minutes of the first quarter, but did not capitalize. Edison (2-0) then drove 70 yards over 10 plays as Luke Blatnik capped the 5:18 drive with a 6-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. The first of five extra points from Alex Davidson gave the Chargers the 7-0 lead. Disaster then struck St. Paul on a third-down play on the ensuing drive. Quarterback Grant Kuhnle was sacked for a 15-yard loss, and the ball came free and was recovered by the Chargers at the St. Paul 19-yard line. Kuhle was injured on the play and did not return. That meant less than two minutes into the second quarter of the second game, the Flyers were down their starting backfield. Edison needed just two plays to score, with fullback Bryson Wittmer switching directions and scoring on a 19-yard run. That made it 14-0 at the 9:54 mark of the second. After a three-and-out, Blatnik then found an opening and scored on the second play of the ensuing drive. His 66-yard score extended the lead to 21-0 at the 7:01 mark. When the Chargers got it back next at the St. Paul 48, it needed five plays to score. Quarterback Abe Hermes scrambled to avoid a sack and found Coltyn Meagrow in the left corner of the end zone. The 6-yard TD pass extended the lead to 28-0 at the 1:33 mark of the quarter. "A lot of credit to St. Paul at the beginning," Edison head coach Jim Hall said. "They went to their identity, which is to pour the ball, control the clock and shorten the game. Which is what we like to do as well. "I just got done telling our team, we have to learn to adjust to those things," he added. "We get maybe anxious or whatever. We have to continue to slow down and understand it's a grind, and work through it. And that's what they were able to do over time tonight. I was glad we were able to do what they did to get momentum to swing our way." Wittmer returned the second half kickoff to the St. Paul 45. Then, on the first snap of the third quarter, Hermes found Blatnik across the middle for a 45-yard TD pass and catch. That made it 35-0 at the 11:43 mark of the third. Edison's last score came on an 18-yard TD by Cy Finnen, again on a second play of a drive, which came after a St. Paul turnover on downs. The kick was blocked, leaving the Chargers up 41-0. St. Paul got on the scoreboard for the first time this season when it was ruled that Wittmer — punting from his own end zone — had his knee touch the ground when he fielded the snap with 7:25 left in the game. Through eight quarters, the Chargers have not allowed any points. In a 47-16 win at Firelands on Aug. 23, the Falcons scored on an interception return and a blocked kick. "Defense is good," Hall said. "That's kind of been our calling car for a while, our defense. We think we have a fast group and a lot of kids with experience, so those things bode well. "But you're only as good as your next game. We'll get back at it and make sure we're ready for next week." For first-year coach Chris Doughty, things are difficult with both the schedule and roster. The Flyers played without two-way starters Jack Stieber and Brock Houck, then saw Kuhnle go down. St. Paul opened the game with a drive that reached the Edison 42, but resulted in a fumble. The Flyers got the ball back on an Edison fumble, but turned it over on downs at the Chargers' 30. "Edison has a heck of a defense with a lot of playmakers who fly to the football," Doughty said. "They are physical and strong, but I was really proud of how we started the game. We couldn't quite put the ball in the end zone with a couple early opportunities, and they got it going offensively. It was tough to respond at that point, we just have to keep moving forward." The starting center, Nick Pocos, moved to running back and totaled 78 yards on 28 attempts. Landon Fries moved from receiver to the backfield and picked up 47 yards on 15 attempts. "I don't want to make excuses with injuries, but the reality is we have to continue to find things that are going to work and fill some holes," Doughty said. "We couldn't quite finish it, but I like the direction we're headed. I think we have some good things coming yet, but we have to put our heads down and keep working to get there." Edison will host Gibsonburg next week in the first game at the renovated Freedom Field, while the Flyers entertain Tiffin Calvert on Sept. 7. Edison 0 28 13 0 — 41 St. Paul 0 0 0 0 — 2 Scoring EDI — Luke Blatnik 6 run (Alex Davidson kick) EDI — Bryson Wittmer 19 run (Davidson kick) EDI — Blatnik 66 run (Davidson kick) EDI — Coltyn Meagrow 6 pass from Abe Hermes (Davidson kick) EDI — Blatnik 45 pass from Hermes (Davidson kick) EDI — Finnen 18 run (kick blocked) STP — Safety