EDINBURGH — Edinburgh was not at full strength Friday when it welcomed Irvington Prep as quarterback Connor Ramey and leading rusher and tackler Jackson Hartwell were unable to play. But their teammates stepped up in a big way as the Lancers earned their first victory of the season, 54-18.
“I think we were the better team tonight. We had some guys step up and get some snaps in because of having two starters out, and they played well tonight,” Edinburgh coach Tyler DeSpain said.
It did not take the Lancers (1-6) long to get on the board. A 40-yard pass from quarterback Caleb Murphy to Jared Myers moved the ball down to the Ravens’ 21-yard line. On the very next play, Murphy found Gabe Bennett, the lone senior on Edinburgh’s roster, wide open in the corner of the end zone for a quick touchdown strike and a 6-0 lead.
After forcing a punt from Irvington Prep, the Lancers once again struck quickly. Murphy found a streaking Elijah Bryant down the middle of the field from 41 yards out on the third play of the drive for a touchdown. The two-point conversion put Edinburgh up 14-0 with 2:13 left in the first quarter.
The Ravens were able to answer right back. After stopping the Lancers on fourth down, quarterback Luke Browning found Quinton Knox on a screen pass from 27 yards out to pull them to within 14-6 with 8:41 left in the half.
Edinburgh looked as if it had yet another quick-strike answer for Irvington Prep, as Myers took a screen pass down the left side for what appeared to be a touchdown. A holding penalty negated the score, but the Lancers were undeterred. Following a 35-yard pass play from Murphy to Bennett, running back Bailey Totten took a handoff on the next play and rumbled in from 5 yards out, extending the lead to 20-6 with 6:22 left in the first half.
Following a nice punt return to the Ravens 33-yard line, Totten took a handoff on the first play of the drive and galloped for a touchdown at the 1:46 mark.
Edinburgh then recovered the ensuing kickoff and scored on its first play again. This time, Bennett took a pass from Murphy down the right sideline for 30 yards, and the Lancers had a 34-6 halftime cushion.
Irvington Prep received the second half kick, but on the third play from scrimmage the Edinburgh defense got into the scoring act. A solid hit jarred the ball loose from quarterback Browning. Totten scooped up the loose ball and raced 30 yards for the score to put the Lancers up 42-6 just 1:36 into the second half.
The Ravens came back on their next possession and scored their second touchdown of the night when Browning found Daeshawn Jones down the left sideline from 53 yards out, but Edinburgh once again answered, and answered quickly.
On the third play of the ensuing drive, Totten took the handoff around the right side from 22 yards out for his third touchdown of the game, putting the Lancers up 48-12 with 2:50 left in the third quarter.
“Totten played well tonight; that’s why he’s our No. 2. Our line also played well. They blocked well and created some lanes for our running backs, so that was a positive,” DeSpain said. “I think every player got to play in the second half and get some snaps, so that is always good.”
Following another fumble recovery by Totten, Edinburgh found the end zone one more time. Bennett took the handoff from 25 yards out and scampered to paydirt with 8:10 remaining in the contest. Irvington Prep added a touchdown in the final minute.
