By Dan Angell
For the Daily Journal
CLOVERDALE
As his team lined up to kick off to Cloverdale midway through the third quarter, Edinburgh wide receiver Jarrett Turner looked over to teammate Landen Burton and shouted, “Everybody’s getting a touchdown tonight!”
Not quite, but the Lancers weren’t far off.
Riley Palmeter spread the ball around for four touchdown passes, each to a different receiver, and the Lancers never let the Clovers into the contest. Turner and Burton were each on the receiving end of a Palmeter touchdown as seven different Edinburgh players found the end zone to give the visiting Lancers their first 2-0 start in 28 years, courtesy of a 55-0 steamrolling of Cloverdale on Friday night.
“Our offense did the things we needed to do,” Edinburgh coach Tyler DeSpain said. “We knew coming in that our kids were more athletic, and they were prepared to end this losing streak of not going 2-0 since 1993. Our kids were all on the same page, and they played well tonight.”
While the offense scored on three of its first four possessions, it was the defense that made the difference in the first half for the Lancers (2-0). After Palmeter found Turner for a 30-yard touchdown pass 91 seconds into the game, the Clovers (0-2) responded by taking the ensuing kickoff back to the Lancers’ 24-yard-line, giving them hope of an immediate response that could have made it a ball game.
Instead, the Edinburgh defense stood tall, forcing the Clovers to go backwards and eventually give the ball up on downs on the Lancer 29. Even when a mistake on fourth down by the Edinburgh offense gave the ball right back to the Clovers, the Edinburgh defense was again steel, as Colin Richardson snagged his first of two interceptions to choke off the threat.
“That was really important,” DeSpain said. “Momentum’s a big thing for our kids, and when they feel that momentum is behind them, they play totally different than they do with their backs against the wall.”
Once the early threat was over, the Lancers made sure they wouldn’t have to worry again for the rest of the night. Cloverdale didn’t run a play outside of Edinburgh’s 31-yard line until the 9:27 mark of the second quarter, but by that time, the Clovers trailed 27-0, thanks to the Lancers cashing in on the first two of the Clovers’ five turnovers. In all, Edinburgh turned four into offensive touchdowns and Richardson took one back for a score himself, giving the Lancers 34 points off of Cloverdale mistakes.
Most importantly, the Lancers head into Week 3 as winners for the first time in many years. Even if the win was against an opponent that has lost 14 straight, it’s still a step forward that DeSpain was happy to see the Lancers take.
“This doesn’t just do things for our kids, this also does things for our community,” DeSpain said. “We’ve waited a long time for this, and finally, we’ve got a group that can come in and play ball.
“People might complain about the schedule we’re playing, but it’s good for the program and our community. We’re here to prove a point, and now we’re on to Oldenburg and hopefully we can be 3-0.”
