Edison defense turns away St. Paul

MILALN — The classic bend, but don't break. The Edison football team found itself on its heels defensively several times throughout Friday's non-league game against visiting St. Paul. That included the first three minutes of the third quarter when the Flyers were driving near the Edison red zone trailing just 14-10. But the Chargers forced four turnovers on downs on their side of the field, and their offense was efficient throughout in a 35-10 win over the Flyers. "Hats off to St. Paul, they made a big jump from last week and were physical and low, and changed some things up," Edison head coach Jim Hall said. "They did a gray job. But our guys faced some adversity tonight and did a pretty decent job battling back in the second half. "Bend, don't break, don't get down and keep playing … it's what we have to learn to do." Edison used nearly six minutes of the opening quarter on its first drive, which ended in an 8-yard touchdown run by Bryson Wittmer. The first of five extra points by Alex Davidson made it 7-0 at the 5:45 mark of the first quarter. After the Flyers turned it over on downs at the Edison 42, the Chargers covered 55 yards in nine plays as Wittmer scored from the 3 for a 14-0 lead with 8:33 left in the half. But back came the Flyers (0-2). St. Paul needed just six plays to move 83 yards, as Grant Kuhnle found Connor Lindenberger for gains of 39 and 33 yards. Landon Fries then pushed across from the 1, and Nate Griffin's PAT cut the deficit to 14-7 at the 6:05 mark of the first half. Edison then appeared to be marching towards another score, but the Flyers stopped Wittmer on a fourth-and-1 from the St. Paul 7 with 2:28 left in the half. Kuhnle then found Lindenberger for 34 yards and Fries for 16. The drive stalled, but not before Nate Griffin kicked a 39-yard field goal with 17 seconds left in the half for a 14-10 deficit. The Flyers got the ball to start the third and reached the Edison 24, but a procedure penalty helped lead to another turnover on downs at the 8:06 mark of the third. The Chargers then went 76 yards with Wittmer closing it out on another 8-yard run for a 21-10 lead with 3:50 left in the quarter. The next St. Paul turnover on downs happened at midfield, only for the Flyers' Abel Couch to intercept an Edison pass near midfield. However, the next turnover on downs came at the Edison 45. Wittmer then scored on a 9-yard run, and after a St. Paul fumble, scored from the 16 with 1:24 left in the game. Wittmer ran 19 times for 111 yards and all five touchdowns. Ryder Kramb added 68 yards on seven attempts, while Cayden Clere had 53 yards on five rushes. Quarterback Cole Leimeister ran six times for 38 yards. He also completed 6-of-7 pass attempts for 78 yards, including a key 20-yard pass on the opening drive to Coltyn Meagrow on a fourth-and-4. "Obviously we have a little wrinkle with a little more shotgun and a little more play selection, but it all comes back to our basics of running the option," Hall said. "But winning each week is our objective obviously, and we have another big one next week." For St. Paul, Kuhnle was 12-of-22 passing for 200 yards. Lindenberger caught three passes for 105 yards, while Fries had five catches for 67 yards. Nick Pocos ran nine times for 33 yards and Fries totaled 32 yards on 10 attempts. "Edison is a great team, a great program and when you make little mistakes against a disciplined team like that, they turn into big things," St. Paul head coach Chris Doughty said. "We just didn't overcome mistakes and penalties as well as we could have. "But I can't say enough about our kids again. This is two consecutive weeks we were in the game late. But Edison played a tough game and scored points right up until the last second of the game. You can't fault their effort, and they played a great game and deserved to win tonight." The Chargers host Hopewell-Loudon next Friday, while the Flyers travel to Tiffin Calvert. "Overall, really proud of the way our kids battled," Doughty said. "They are a bigger SBC school, as is Port Clinton. It hurts losing right now, but we will be better from competing well against these two teams. "The score might not reflect it, but we looked better tonight than we did a week ago. Calvert is another good opponent, and we need to take another jump forward next week."