For a little more than three quarters on Friday night, it appeared that Edinburgh was going to win its season opener against Tindley for the third year in a row.
But after withstanding two goal-line drives by Tindley, the Lancers couldn’t tackle on what seemed to be an innocuous screen pass. That pass turned into a 60-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers then held off a late Lancer drive to the 6 to steal a 12-7 win.
In all five editions of this rivalry, the games have been tight with only one possession deciding the final score.
This year wasn’t any different.
“We expect that,” Edinburgh head coach Tyler DeSpain said. “Every single game is close, and I don’t think it’s ever going to change.”
Edinburgh looked good early on offense but couldn’t sustain it throughout. Ditto for the defense, as the Lancers made two third-quarter goal-line stands and might have won but for that screen pass.
“We have to go back to the fundamentals and make sure we’re tackling first and not trying to strip the ball,” DeSpain said.
DeSpain wasn’t afraid to roll the dice early, as he had the Lancers go for it twice in the first quarter on fourth down. The second try netted paydirt.
On fourth and goal, junior Jackson Hartwell ran behind a couple of extra blockers to score and give the Lancers the lead, 7-0, with 3:13 left in the first.
That capped a six play, 54-yard drive, and with the way the Lancers were moving the ball, it appeared it wouldn’t be the last time they scored in the first half. But the Tigers stiffened up and although the Lancers continued to move the ball, they couldn’t move it far enough for the score.
The Tigers thought they had their first score when defensive end Ben Reynolds picked off Edinburgh quarterback Caleb Murphy and raced in for an apparent 15-yard pick-six, but instead of a possible tie, Tindley was flagged for roughing the passer.
Another interception, this time by Tristan Howard on a Connor Ramey throw, set Tindley up for its first score.
While the Tigers were having sporadic success with the run, they saw some gaps in the Lancer secondary and decided to throw the ball.
The proof was a 43-yard strike from quarterback Deon Richmond to James Majors to the Lancer 3. One play later, junior running back Elijah Girton ran in untouched; Girton was stopped on the two-point conversion on the exact same play.
After stalling on the ground, Tindley went back in the air on third-and-21, but not with a bomb, but more of a dink as Richmond tossed to JacyRe Smith, who ran behind his line and withstood four missed tackles to score what turned out to be the game-winner.
Edinburgh then mounted a drive of its own, getting to the Tiger 6, however the running game, which had worked well up to that point, inexplicably went away. Instead, the Lancers lost 20 yards on their next four plays and were left with the bad feeling of what could have been.
The tarnished silver lining for Edinburgh was senior Gabe Bennett, who rushed for 104 yards.
Tindley’s Richmond threw for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Edinburgh played a disciplined game, only getting flagged twice for 20 yards, while Tindley had nine penalties for 90 yards. That usually spells disaster in a close game, but it didn’t affect the outcome.
“Our running game had its moments,” DeSpain said. “It’s a new offense we’re putting in this year and we’re still learning and figuring out how to line up the guys.”
Edinburgh is now on the road for its next two games, starting with a trip to Cloverdale next Friday at 7 p.m.
