Port Clinton blasts Edison in rematch

MILAN — Port Clinton rallied for a four-point win against Edison three weeks ago. The rematch wasn't even close. The Redskins shut down Edison and did enough when they had the football to post a 35-0 win in a Division V first round playoff game Friday at Freedom Field. "Our team played tough tonight," PC coach Eric Leuthold said. "Our defense stepped up and gave us the ball. That's a tough team that we played." PC, an 11 seed in Region 22, limited Edison to 191 total yards and improved to 7-4. The Redskins will travel to No. 3 Genoa next week for a second round matchup. The Redskins ended up with 269 yards rushing on 33 carries, led by Malakii Pinkelton's 163-yard, two-touchdown night. Pinkelton, who carried 23 times, broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown run to give PC a commanding 21-0 lead with 2:39 left in the third quarter. The touchdown was set up by Lucas Bodie's interception of a tipped pass. The Redskins ended up with four interceptions in the game. "You have to earn every yard against a team like that," Leuthold said. "We stuck with it and he ran hard. The line did a great job and a couple broke toward the end." Edison finished its season with a 7-4 record. The teams met on Oct. 10 at True-Lay Stadium in Port Clinton. In that game, the Redskins rallied from a 14-0 deficit for a 21-17 win. But in Friday's game, it took Port Clinton just 46 seconds to get on the scoreboard. Christian Miller returned the opening kickoff 42 yards to set up the Redskins at the Edison 38-yard line. Landon Leis connected with Elliot Laird for 17 yards and Pinkelton ran for a yard. Leis then found Miller open in the end zone for a 25-yard score. The PC defense came up big on fourth down in the first half, stopping Edison's first three drives on downs. Edison's first drive took 15 plays but stalled at the PC 23 when Cole Leimeister was intercepted on fourth-and-10 by Tre Armendariz at the goal line. The Chargers' second drive got to the PC 14 — aided by a 19-yard connection between Leimeister and Brody McFadden on third-and-15 — before a penalty moved Edison back to the 30. Wyatt Yarbrough intercepted a fourth-down pass in the end zone. Edison's third drive was stalled when Cayden Clere was stopped for a two-yard gain on fourth-and-3 from the PC 21. "That's a team that likes to go for it on fourth down," Leuthold said. "Our defense did a great job getting us the ball and shutting them out. That's something that doesn't happen with (Edison) very often." After stopping Clere, Port Clinton cashed in on a 19-play, 81-yard drive that was kept alive when Leis scrambled on third-and-17 and found Gavin Cornell for 20 yards on the Edison 'E' at midfield. Leis gained three yards on fourth-and-2 from the Edison 31 and reached out for the goal line on a seven-yard quarterback draw to put PC up 14-0 with 16 seconds left in the first half. PC, which edged Edison 21-17 in the regular season, would've scored more points if not for well over 130 yards on 12 penalties. Miller had an 85-yard punt return called back in the third quarter. Leis, PC's sophomore quarterback, threw for 57 yards and ran for 32, including a 10-yard scamper on third down that kept the Redskins' third TD drive alive. "We've asked a lot of him as a sophomore," Leuthold said. "Running the ball hasn't come naturally to him and he stepped up when it counted." PC's Brody Bollinger nabbed an interception late in the third quarter to set up the Redskins' fourth score — a 74-sprint by Gavin Cornell. Pinkelton finished off the night by making a nice cut on an 11-yard touchdown run.