A talented, highly-rated opponent, compounded by a running clock, spelled doom for Edinburgh on Friday night.
Class A No. 5 Covenant Christian didn’t let a wet field slow it down as the Warriors pounded the host Lancers 75-7 in a first-round sectional game.
Covenant Christian (10-0) continues its season next week against Park Tudor.
Despite an ignominious end to its season, it was still a measure of success for the Lancers.
For one thing, Edinburgh finished with a 3-7 season, and while that might not get the average fan to sit up and take notice, it was a respectable year for the Lancers. All three wins were at home, and with the exception of this game and a couple of others, they were competitive most weeks.
That was all Edinburgh coach Tyler DeSpain could ask for.
“These kids have a lot of heart and they gave a lot of effort,” DeSpain said. “We’re trying to different things and build the program up.”
Stopping the Warriors, who came into the game scoring 53.2 points a game, was going to be a tough task, but the Lancers themselves could be dangerous especially with the passing attack of record-breaking junior quarterback Riley Palmeter, who hit the 2,000-yard mark last week and was hoping to add to his yardage and touchdown totals.
The Warriors went above their average in the first half with eight touchdowns.
For his part, Palmeter struggled because of the Covenant rush and as a result completed only 5 of 21 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown while throwing two interceptions. He finished with 2,240 yards and 29 TD passes for the season.
It was worse on the ground for Edinburgh, as the Lancers could only muster 16 yards.
Covenant scored in several ways, including five rushing touchdowns, one through the air, a 20-yard fumble return, a 57-punt return and an 81-yard kickoff return to start the second half.
They also had an apparent interception return for a score, but an illegal block nullified that one.
Edinburgh only scored once, but it was a thing of beauty.
Palmeter threw short to sophomore Braylon Bryant, who then sprinted the rest of the way for an 80-yard touchdown play late in the second quarter.
Leading the way for the Warriors was running back Micah Wilson with three touchdowns on runs of 12, 15 and 66 yards, and 108 total yards rushing. His backfield mate, Gage Coffey, had two scores and a team-high 140 yards.
One good note for Edinburgh was it did sack Covenant quarterback Austin Frazier three times.
“We told our kids this is a real team, but we had a couple of miscues and that hurt,” DeSpain said.
Although the Lancers will lose leading rusher and tackler Austin Streeval and four other seniors, DeSpain will have several experienced players back, including Palmeter, who figures to add on to his record-breaking campaign alongside Caleb Dewey and Bryant.
“I’m really excited about next year,” DeSpain said. “We lose some great leaders, but we have a big freshman class coming in and we should be around 27-30 players next year. It’s been a fun season and I’m hoping we can improve and keep winning more.”
