RICHMOND
Edinburgh was unable to build on last week’s dramatic four-overtime victory against Switzlerland County.
Instead, the Lancers lost 49-8 against Oldenburg Academy on Friday night at Earlham College.
The Lancers (1-5) struggled offensively throughout the game, totaling less than 100 yards of total offense until a pair of drives after the game’s outcome was no longer in doubt.
Coach Derrick Ball said breaking down the reason for the loss wasn’t hard.
“We had too many mistakes up front, too many mistakes with coverage and with the ball,” Ball said. “You have a certain plan all week, and when you don’t execute, it hurts us.”
The game began ominously for the Lancers when Oldenburg’s Mike He ran for a 63-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
Edinburgh then lost a fumble on its first drive and Oldenburg (4-2) took two plays to score, finding paydirt on a 15-yard pass from Matt Moorman to Nick Bischoff.
The Lancers lost another fumble and had a promising drive end with an interception, all in the first quarter. The pick was returned 77 yards to the Edinburgh 1-yard line, leading to another scoring run from He for a 21-0 margin after the first quarter.
A 25-yard touchdown run from He in the second quarter made for a 28-0 halftime score. It could have been worse for the Lancers, but Edinburgh’s Brandon Carman intercepted a pass at the goalline to end one drive in the first quarter, and the Twisters also were stopped on downs just a yard away from scoring at the end of the half.
There was no masking the Lancers’ offensive woes in the half, however, with the team only able to earn two first downs in the opening 24 minutes.
After stopping Edinburgh on downs to begin the second half, Oldenburg drove 54 yards for another touchdown, with He punching the ball over from the 2 and the conversion making it 35-0.
Oldenburg added another touchdown after making an interception. Moorman hit Bischoff for an 11-yard touchdown strike, and the extra point that made it 42-0.
Oldenburg poured it on in the fourth quarter with a 52-yard touchdown pass that pushed the Twisters over 400 yards in total offense for the evening.
Edinburgh’s Shane Smith finally put the Lancers on the board, capping off a scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run. Smith added the two-point conversion run to make it 49-8.
The Lancers mounted another drive in the final minutes but were stopped inside the Oldenburg 10.
The Lancers host Traders Point Christian on Friday. Ball said the team will break down game film and he will point out how the offense executed the game plan better in the final quarter.
“Some things started to click there at the end, and we started to be more physical,” he said. “Oldenburg is a good team, but obviously when you do some things right, it’s something to build on and that’ what we’ll try to do.”
