RICHMOND — The Toronto and Edison football teams exchanged blows throughout the night before the Red Knights finally did in the Wildcats with a haymaker late in the fourth quarter.

Facing a third-and-long inside their own 20 with under three minutes left to play, Toronto rose to the occasion as the Red Knights scored their seventh touchdown of the night on an 82-yard pass play, and the visitors from the Gem City were able to hold on from that point en route to a 48-34 victory Thursday night out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.

With the win, Toronto remains undefeated on the season at 6-0. 

“There were a lot of big plays both ways,” Toronto head coach Jaret Aubiel said. “It was not the type of game we were expecting, but we’re happy we were able to come out on top.”

The loss drops Edison down to .500 at 3-3.

“It was a hard fought game by both teams,” first-year Edison head coach Anthony Pierro said. “I tip my hat to Toronto. They played a great game. Offensively, they called an unbelievable game. They took advantage of their opportunities. They played well. They deserved to win.”

Toronto senior quarterback Michael Henry was instrumental in the win as he accounted for five total touchdowns, while also throwing for a pair of 2-point conversions. Henry threw for four touchdowns in the win, while also running for one.

The visitors scored touchdowns on seven of their 10 drives of the game. The other three drives consisted on an interception, a fumble and a kneel down to end the game.

Edison senior quarterback Nolan Haught, who was playing the position for the first time since he was in eighth grade, delivered a strong performance in the place of fellow classmate JD Henderson, who went down with a season-ending injury in Edison’s Week 5 loss at Caldwell. Monday, Henderson’s injury was confirmed to be a torn ACL forcing Haught into duty.

“I will tell you what, for him playing quarterback for just three days at practice, he could not have done a better job,” Pierro said about Haught. “He did what we asked him to do and more. I have a lot of respect for him. He played an awesome game offensively for us.”

Haught tallied one touchdown on the ground with another through the air was well as throwing for a 2-point conversion, but it was not enough for the Silver and Black.

“He definitely played well for the position he was in,” Aubiel said. “Props to Edison. They came out and played a heck of a game. Their kids did a great job. We have a lot of respect for them. They played well.”

Toronto received the opening kickoff, and the Red Knights marched right down the field for the first touchdown of the night. On 1st-and-goal from the 1, Henry plowed into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to give the visitors a 6-0 lead. The extra point was no good keeping Edison’s deficit at 6-0 with 8:58 remaining in the quarter.

Brady Fair hauled in a 24-yard reception on the drive, Henry had a key 10-yard run and Brody Close hauled in a 27-yard reception down to the 1 to setup Henry’s score.

The lead did not last long as the Wildcats answered right back on their first drive of the game.

Edison drove 46 yards — all of which came on the ground — to knot the score as Matt Evans scored on a 3-yard run. A mishandled snap on the extra point try resulted in the hosts being unable to take the lead as the score remained 6-6 with 3:50 left in the first.

This time, the Red Knights responded for the first time.

Henry found Close open for a 60-yard catch-and-run to give the victors a 12-6 lead. The Red Knights went out to attempt the extra point, however, Edison jumped offside resulting in a penalty. Toronto had a change of heart following the penalty as the team decided to go for 2. This time, Caden McGrath ran for the conversion to give the Red Knights a 14-6 lead with 2:57 remaining to be played in the quarter.

The Toronto defense came up with the first stop of the game on the ensuing Edison drive, however, the Wildcats got the ball back following an interception by Brett Hellyer. Hellyer capped the drive off himself with a 5-yard run, and Andrew Kirkman kicked the extra point to pull Edison to within 14-13 with 7:07 left to play in the first half.

Evan Kimmerle got the drive going with a 12-yard reception.

Toronto then countered with its third touchdown of the night. This time, McGrath bulldozed his way into the end zone from the 1, and Fair hauled in the conversion pass from Henry to extend the Red Knights’ advantage out to 22-13 with 2:28 remaining before halftime.

The boys in white forced Edison to punt on its next drive, and the Red Knights drove right down the field for their fourth touchdown of the night. This time, Kenny Jett collected a 13-yard scoring strike from Henry, and Henry found Fair open in the end zone for the 2-point conversion to increase Toronto’s advantage to 30-13 with just 14 seconds still showing on the scoreboard clock.

Following the kickoff, the Wildcats got the ball at their own 46, however, the team opted to take a knee and run out the clock.

“It was a nice atmosphere, and it was a good game,” Pierro said. “At the end of the first half, maybe I should have run the clock out instead of trying to get points on the board. We were getting the ball to start the second half. Toronto wasn’t stopping us either. It was an awesome game. We just came up on the short end. We just needed one stop to give us a chance to tie the ballgame.”

The boys in black got the ball to start the second half, and the Wildcats took full advantage of the opportunity. Two receptions by Skyler Willoughby produced 29 yards before Haught broke through the defense on his way to a 34-yard touchdown. Kirkman split the uprights on the PAT to cut his team’s deficit down to 30-20 with 9:07 left in the third.

Edison appeared to regain the momentum, however, Toronto quickly took it back.

The Red Knights began their next drive at their own 35. Drake Bosucher got things rolling with runs of 13 and 14 yards. Later, McGrath ran for 12 yards on a fourth-down play before Henry hooked up with Fair for a 17-yard catch-and-run touchdown to make the score 36-20. The extra point was no good once again, but the Red Knights led by 16 with 5:39 remaining in the quarter.

“I think they had 3rd-and-long four or five times, and they converted them, a couple of times for touchdowns,” Pierro said. “We just could not get off the field. Their quarterback played a really good game. No. 15 (Fair) played a great game for them as well. I tip my hat to Toronto. They played a really good game. They played better than we did. They deserved to win.”

Edison got the ball back needing to make something happen, and the Wildcats tried to do just that as Santino Auteri snagged a 6-yard completion on fourth down to jumpstart the drive. The Wildcats drove down to the Red Knights’ 13, however, a 5-yard penalty pushed Edison back to the 18 as time expired in the third.

Disaster soon struck for the Wildcats as McGrath intercepted a pass inside the 10, and he returned all the way down to the Edison 35, however, 15-yard penalty on Toronto brought the ball back to midfield.

As it had with the Wildcats, disaster struck for the Red Knights on the next play as Evans scooped a fumble and rumbled 37 yards for a touchdown. Haught then hooked up with Kimmerle for the 2-point conversion to pull Edison to within 36-28 with 11:36 left to play in the game.

Edison made the big play when it needed, and the Wildcats were fired up hoping to get a stop and get the ball back to the offense with a chance to tie the score.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that did not happen as the Red Knights once again delivered a big blow.

This time, a fourth-down conversion kept the drive alive, and McGrath ran around the end on his way to an 11-yard touchdown to give Toronto a 42-28 lead. The Red Knights attempted to go for 2, however, they were stopped short of the goal line keeping it a 14-point game with 5:21 remaining in the fourth.

“I just told the kids that we need to just keep doing what we have been doing,” Aubiel said asked what he told his team following the Edison touchdown. “Our kids responded. They answered the call. I have to give them props. All the credit goes to the kids and to my assistant coaches. It was a total program win.”

This time, the Wildcats answered the call with another touchdown to keep the outcome in doubt. 

Haught hooked up with Chase Freeman for a 50-yard completion down to the Toronto 5 to put the Wildcats in business once again. Edison appeared to be on the verge of pulling closer, however, disaster nearly struck again as a bad snap resulted in a 21-yard loss leaving the Wildcats in a 2nd-goal situation from the 26. Edison was able to advert disaster, and two plays later, Haught found Willoughby open in the end zone for a 22-yard score to make it 42-34. The Wildcats decided to roll the dice and go for 2 following a penalty on Toronto, however, their attempted conversion run was stopped short keeping it an eight-point game with 3:29 left to play.

A personal foul penalty backed Toronto up on its ensuing drive, however, the Red Knights were unfazed. Facing the possibility of giving the ball back to Edison in a one-score game, Toronto drew up the dagger as Henry hooked up with Fair for an 82-yard touchdown to make the score, 48-34. The Red Knights once again went for 2, and once again the Wildcats stopped the run short, however, Toronto still led by 14 points for just 2:45 remaining to be played in the game.

“If you would have told me we would have scored 34 points and lost, I probably would not have believed you,” Pierro said. “Our defense did not play bad. We just gave up some big plays. We just could not get off the field. We did what we had to do on offense, but we just could not get stops. 

“Nolan Haught was just unbelievable. He played tremendously after only having played quarterback for three days at practice and not playing the position since he was in the eighth grade. We have to build off this performance.

“We are going to have to try and do some things defensively to make the games low scoring, so we give ourselves a chance to win.”

Edison got the ball back hoping for another big play, however, the Red Knights snuffed out the Wildcats’ drive as a turnover on downs gave the ball back to Toronto with 2 minutes left on the clock.

“Defensively, we got off the field when we had to,” Aubiel said. “We got some big stops and it resulted in a win.”

Toronto took over at the Edison 41, and the Red Knights were able to run out the clock as Henry took a knee on the final play to secure the victory.

“Our kids never quit,” Pierro said. “I respect our kids for not quitting. We have to stick together. We have to do it for our seniors, and see where we end up at the end of the season. It was a tough one, but we have to move on to the next one.”

Toronto is scheduled to play Tuslaw next week at 7 p.m. Friday night at home at Clarke Hinkle Field.

On the other side, Edison is set to face Canton Central Catholic the same night at home on homecoming.

Toronto 48, Edison 34

Toronto 14 16 6 12 – 48

Edison   6  7 7 14 – 34

SCORING

Toronto: Michael Henry 1 run (kick fail), 8:58

Edison: Matt Evans 3 run (run fail), 3:50

Toronto: Brody Close 60 pass from Henry (Caden McGrath run), 2:47

Edison: Brett Hellyer 5 run (Andrew Kirkman kick), 7:07

Toronto: McGrath 1 run (Brady Fair from Henry), 2:28

Toronto: Kenny Jett 13 pass from Henry (Fair from Henry), :14

Edison: Nolan Haught 34 run (Kirkman kick), 9:07

Toronto: Fair 17 pass from Henry (kick fail), 5:39

Edison: Evans 37 fumble return (Evan Kimmerle from Haught), 11:36

Toronto: McGrath 11 run (run fail), 5:21

Edison: Skyler Willoughby 22 pass from Haught (run fail), 3:29

Toronto: Fair 82 pass from Henry (run fail), 2:45