Potters take close battle with Wildcats
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RICHMOND – The Edison football team’s defense stood tall throughout the game against East Liverpool, however, the Potters were able to put together one scoring drive when they needed to and that made all the difference.
Trailing 3-0 midway through the fourth quarter, East Liverpool delivered on its 10th possession of the night as a 1-yard touchdown run by the Potters Ben Myers with 1:14 left to play made the difference as the Potters topped the Wildcats, 7-3, Friday night out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.
“I am so proud of them,” Edison (2-5) head coach Mike Collopy said. “They played together. They played tough. We played a really-good team. Our kids played with their hearts. We played physical. I have to give full credit to our kids. We had a really-good week or practice. We needed to kind of hit the reset button. It is extremely tough walking into the locker room and having to peel guys off the floor. It’s hard, but that shows how much they care. I am super proud of them.”
Following the touchdown and extra point, Edison took over at its own 36, and four-straight completions by quarterback Bryson Cunningham moved the ball down to the East Liverpool 39. Cunningham’s next two passes fell incomplete, but a 5-yard pass on third down moved the ball down to the 34 with 29 seconds still showing on the scoreboard clock. The Wildcats still had life left in them, however, a fourth-down completion was stopped short of the marker, and the took over at their own 30 and promptly took a knee and ran out the clock brining the game to an end.
East Liverpool’s ninth possession of the night ended with its third turnover on downs of the night giving the ball back to Edison at its own 40. The Wildcats were able to get something going on offense as a 14-yard completion to Brett Hellyer advanced the ball down to the East Liverpool 20. Two runs moved the ball to the 17 setting up third down, however, disaster struck on the next play.
Facing 3rd-and-7, Cunningham’s pass was intercepted, and the Potters took over at their own 20 with 6:05 remaining to be played. After a pair of incompletions, the Potters faced a 3rd-and-10 from their own 31, however, quarterback Ben Myers completed his next three passes before his short run gave East Liverpool a first down at the Edison 1.
The Potters (5-2) scored on the next play, however, a 15-yard penalty moved the ball back to the 16. It was the second time in the game East Liverpool had a touchdown taken off the scoreboard due to a penalty.
Undeterred, the Potters came right back with another big completion. This one covered 15 yards moving the ball back down to the 1 before a rushing touchdown gave the victors a 6-3 lead. Then, Grant Wright split the uprights with his extra point making the score 7-3.
The Wildcats attempted to answer and win the game, however, Edison’s last drive resulted in a turnover on downs enabling East Liverpool to run out the clock.
“I tell the kids, there are some guys who are really upset with themselves, but there are 100 plays in a football game,” Collopy said. “People try to identify plays that won or lost a game. Several things could have happened that could have changed the course of the game. It is not just one play that wins or loses a game. That takes away from the significance of all the other plays. It is not just one or two plays.
“We had guys step up. We had guys play hurt. They play for each other. When you have a disappointing season, kids and the team may start to look for exit doors, but our kids are not looking for exit doors. We are going to get back at it and build from this. I really appreciate these guys. There is not another team I would rather coach.”
In the first half, the Potters possessed the ball six times, and the Wildcats forced the boys from Columbiana County to punt on their first four possessions before forcing them to turn the ball over on downs on their next two possessions.
After forcing the Blue-and-White to go three-and-out on their first possession of the game, the Wildcats took over at their own 48. Edison started the drive off with a 21-yard pass completion from Cunningham moving the ball down to the visitors’ 31. Later, a personal foul penalty on the Potters advanced the ball to their 8. After a short run on first down, Cunningham was stripped of the ball on second down. The hosts were able to recover the fumble, however, the loss moved the ball back to the 18.
The Edison’s drive ended up stalling, however, Noah Lucas came on and kicked a 33-yard field goal giving the Silver-and-Black a 3-0 lead with 4:10 left to play in the first quarter.
A 24-yard run gave East Liverpool a first down on their ensuing drive, however, the Wildcats forced the Potters to punt for a second time. A nice punt return appeared to give the ball to Edison at East Liverpool’s 49, but that turned out not to be the case. The boys in white were called for a personal foul on the play that should have moved the ball down to the 34, but Edison was called for a dead ball penalty resulting in offsetting penalties and a re-kick.
Instead of starting its next drive at the East Liverpool 34, the Wildcats took over at their own 37 – a difference of 29 yards.
The home team ended up punting on the drive giving the ball back to East Liverpool at its own 40, but once again the Potters were unable to do anything with it and punted the ball back to Edison.
East Liverpool opened its fifth possession of the game with Meshach Harris gaining 17 yards moving the ball to the Edison 37. East Liverpool got the ball down to the 30, however, Edison stopped East Liverpool running back Xavier Lara in the backfield resulting in a 1-yard loss turning the ball back over to the Wildcats.
Edison recovered another fumble on its next drive, and the Wildcats punted the ball back to the Potters. The boys in white took over in good field position at their own 44, but they were unable to take advantage as a fourth-down pass fell incomplete giving the ball to Edison at the East Liverpool 49.
The Wildcats opted to take a knee at the point bringing the first half to an end.
Edison received the kickoff to start the second half, however, the Wildcats were forced to punt the ball to the Potters. Like Edison, East Liverpool was unable to get anything done on its first offensive possession of the third quarter.
The hosts were able to move the ball on their next drive as a 17-yard run by Hellyer moved the ball out to the Edison 48, however, the next three players netted 6 yards. Facing fourth down from the Potters’ 46, the Wildcats opted to punt, however, the punt only traveled 13 yards giving the ball to East Liverpool at its own 33.
East Liverpool moved the ball down to the Edison 44, and the Potters were able to move the ball into Wildcat territory. East Liverpool appeared to pick up a big first down, however, a holding penalty plus one for unsportsmanlike conduct moved the ball from the Edison 44 all the way back to the Potters 31.
On the ensuing play, Edison cornerback Kenny Farnsworth intercepted a Myers pass giving the Wildcats the ball at the Potters 36, however, Edison was not able to move the ball as the East Liverpool defense rose to the occasion and forced a turnover on downs at the 33.
On first down, Harris snagged an 18-yard completion from Myers moving the ball to the Edison 49. On the next play, the Potters appeared to take the lead on a 49-yard, however, the Potters were called for another holding penalty moving the ball back to their 41.
East Liverpool moved the back into Edison territory, however, the Potters were stopped short on a 4th-and-2 play from the Wildcats 41 turning the ball back over to Edison.
Edison’s ensuing drive ended with an interception setting up East Liverpool’s game-winning drive.
“I am proud of everybody,” Collopy said. “Coach (Steve) Trifonoff does a great job with our special teams. He came up with a good plan for our special teams. Coach (Jason) Fogle called a good game. Coach (Tyler) Ossman our defensive coordinator called a great game.
“We are going to pick ourselves back up by our bootstrings. We are going to watch film. We are going to see what we need to improve upon. We are going to figure things out. That is what we did last week. We improved. We are looking to continue to improve and build off the things we did well.”
Next week, Edison is scheduled to play Warren at 7 p.m. Friday night on Homecoming.
Meanwhile, East Liverpool is slated to play rival Oak Glen in the annual “Battle of the Bridge” at 7 p.m. Friday night up at Patterson Field.