Edinburgh finally put one all together.
In an impressive display of offense, defense and poise, the host Lancers beat up on previously unbeaten Switzerland County, 49-14, in a rare Saturday night Mid-Indiana Conference game.
Edinburgh (1-3, 1-2) did all kinds of things right in ending a five-game skid (dating back to last year) and scoring 40 or more points in consecutive games for the first time since the last two contests of the 1961 season.
Junior quarterback Riley Palmeter had quite the game, tossing for seven touchdowns and 286 yards. Palmeter also rushed for 70 yards as Edinburgh totaled nearly 400 yards of offense.
“We played great,” Edinburgh coach Tyler DeSpain said. “Our kids came in prepared and they were ready to go, and they executed to perfection.
“It’s great to get a win at home.”
The Lancers’ first home win since 2016 was something that DeSpain welcomed, especially after two agonizing losses earlier this season that Edinburgh probably should have won.
If not for a few late-game breakdowns, these Lancers could easily be 3-1 instead of the reverse.
“We had things to fix and I think we did that,” said DeSpain.
One of those was scoring quickly and Edinburgh did that on its opening drive, going 72 yards in nine plays. Palmeter threw his first score to sophomore Caleb Dewey from 13 yards out.
Dewey caught another touchdown pass, this one from 9 yards, later in the first to give the Lancers a 12-0 lead.
The Pacers cut the margin to five when Dakota Wallace ran in from the 1 early in the second quarter.
That was basically it for Switzerland County as Edinburgh added two more scores before halftime — a Palmeter TD pass to Landon Burton and a 25-yard field goal from Cade Anderson.
Also helping was Edinburgh’s defense, which got a pair of key stops — one at the Lancer 2-yard line and the other on an interception in Edinburgh territory by Dewey.
Not wanting a letdown like they had in their season-opener against Tindley, the Lancers scored two more times on passes from Palmeter to senior Austin Streeval and a third to Dewey, and the defense picked up a safety when Pacer quarterback Damion Courter was called for intentional grounding while in the end zone.
Streeval and Jarrett Turner finished the scoring for Edinburgh with scoring receptions of 60 and 20 yards, respectively. Switzerland County’s final tally came on a 23-yard pass from Courter to Matt Davis.
“Riley did a great job of finding the open guy,” DeSpain said. “Our backs also did a great job of getting downfield. They are the bread and butter of our team. They take the hard hits and they get the yardage, but a lot of credit should go to our offensive line as they played the best they ever played. They did everything right.”
Dewey had eight catches for Edinburgh for 88 yards and three scores, while Streeval had four for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Edinburgh also had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Switzerland County was led on the ground by Bryce Turner, who had 90 yards. Davis had four receptions for 61 yards.
“We had fundamental breakdowns all the way around,” Pacers coach Ryan Jesop said. “Knowing where (Edinburgh) was supposed to be and lining up on offense and defense.”
Jesop admitted the Pacers had some low numbers with several key players out of the lineup due to injuries. Still, he wasn’t making any excuses, and he hopes to have his players back in time for the Pacers’ next game against Oldenburgh Academy.
But at least his young players got some experience.
“We had a lot of young guys stepping in at different positions,” Jesop said. “Our people were going down, and we filled it with inexperienced guys and it definitely showed.”
Edinburgh plays again next Saturday when it hosts South Decatur in another Mid-Indiana Conference game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
