Before the first offensive play was run in the game between Tindley and Edinburgh on Friday night, the opening kick sailed out of bounds, the Lancers called a time out, and the scoreboard went dead.
Welcome to the opening night of the football season.
In a game that featured 44 total penalties and a sideline skirmish that saw two players get ejected, it was the Lancers that fought through the adversity, defeating the Tigers 14-6 to open the season with a victory.
Once the game actually started, Edinburgh looked sharp on its first offensive possession of the season. Quarterback Caleb Murphy found a streaking Caleb Dewey down the middle of the field for a 64-yard connection, putting the Lancers at the 6-yard line of the Tigers. Following a holding penalty on Edinburgh, Murphy found Dewey again from 19 yards out for a touchdown, putting the Lancers up 6-0 with 10:34 left in the first quarter.
Tindley was able to answer with a sustained drive of their own, aided by Lancer penalties, and drove down to the Edinburgh 33-yard line before Jarrett Turner intercepted Tiger quarterback Deon Richmond at the 14-yard line to shut down the drive.
After trading punts, the Tigers once again were able to sustain a long drive, and this time they found paydirt. Once again, they were helped by Lancer penalties. After forcing Tindley to punt on a fourth and 23, Edinburgh was called for roughing the punter, giving the Tigers an automatic first down. From there, Richmond found Ty Yarrell from 3 yards out to even the score at 6-6 and finish the first-half scoring.
Tindley made a switch at quarterback to open the second half, as freshman Tristian Mathis replaced Richmond. The Lancers greeted Mathis rudely, as Dewey intercepted the first pass he threw to give Edinburgh the ball back at the Tigers’ 40. UThe Lancers could not cash in, as a bad snap, a penalty, an incomplete pass and a failed fake punt attempt gave the ball back to Tindley.
The Lancer defense stepped up once again, however, as Keegan Smith recovered a fumble on the Edinburgh 42-yard line. On the first offensive play following the turnover, the Murphy-to-Dewey connection struck again, this time for a 42-yard touchdown that put the Lancers up 12-6 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter.
After a deep kickoff pinned Tindley deep in its own territory, the Tigers were called for a a delay of game and three straight illegal procedure penalties, pinning them back on their own 1-yard line. Edinburgh took advantage, as they tackled DeVion Hampton in the end zone for a safety to extend the Lancers’ lead to 14-6 entering the final quarter.
The Edinburgh defense continued to answer the call in the fourth quarter, keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard and securing a season-opening victory for the second year in a row.
The Lancers host Cloverdale next week.
