By Rob Deweese
For the Daily Journal
Edinburgh opened its season Friday night with revenge on its mind.
After a tough 12-7 loss to the same Tindley team in last season’s opener, the Lancers looked to write a different script — not just for this game, but for this season, after going 1-9 last year. Unfortunately, the script was much the same to open the season, as the Tigers defeated Edinburgh, 32-14.
One area that needed improvement over last season was the Lancers’ defense; they gave up 40 points per game in 2023. Coach Tyler DeSpain wanted to see improvement on that side of the ball.
“We have a new defensive coordinator who is really enthusiastic and brings it every day,” he said. “The kids have adapted well to him. We also switched to a four-man front, and I think that will help us as well.”
The defense did some nice things. The Lancers sacked Tindley quarterback Kenny Christmon six times, had six tackles for loss, a batted down pass and an interception. It was the big play, though, that bit the Edinburgh defense on multiple occasions; it gave up passing touchdowns of 27, 46, and 20 yards. They Lancers also gave up rushing touchdowns of 19 and 29 yards. Ultimately, those big plays were too much to overcome.
“We have experience with 12 seniors, but we also have a lot of freshmen and sophomores that are still learning,” DeSpain said. “Therefore, we don’t have a lot of depth with nine or 10 kids playing both ways.”
Offensively, it was Lucas Fowler who took the lead role. On Edinburgh’s fourth play from scrimmage, he scampered 32 yards on an inside handoff to open up the scoring. The two-point conversion put Edinburgh up 8-0, a lead that held up through the first quarter. Fowler also caught a 35-yard pass from quarterback Caleb Murphy to move the Lancers deep into Tindley territory late in the third quarter. He finished off that drive with a 1-yard touchdown reception to bring the Lancers to within 26-14 with 9:55 remaining in the game.
“Lucas played well. He is learning a new position, and we are trying to get him the ball in different ways to use his speed,” DeSpain explained.
The Lancers threatened to tighten the game even more when they moved the ball down to the 27-yard line of Tindley, but Murphy’s next pass was intercepted and the drive, as well as Edinburgh’s final threat to score, ended.
After being kept off the scoreboard in the first quarter, Tindley broke through against the Lancer defense twice in the second. Christmon found Rashaud Ewing for a 27-yard touchdown with 7:22 remaining in the first half. Running back Kevin Getter then found the end zone from 19 yards out to put the Tigers on top 12-8 heading into the locker room.
The Tigers struck again on their first possession of the second half, as Christmon connected with Ty Yarrell on a 46-yard strike to extend the lead to 18-8 with 6:47 left in the third quarter. That same connection hooked up again on a fourth and goal from the 20-yard line with 35 seconds left in the quarter, extending the lead to 26-8.
The Tigers iced the game away with yet another big play, as Getter once again found the end zone from 29 yards outwith 2:37 remaining in the game, assuring the opening-night victory.
“I loved the fight of our guys,” DeSpain said. “They played until the end, and when you are playing both ways, you start to feel fatigued and make mistakes. But they never quit playing.”
