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St. Edward High School had another 4 o’clock game this Saturday at First Federal of Lakewood Stadium. This week the Eagles took on the visiting Cincinnati Elder in a very competitive game. This is the second week in a row that St. Eds has played a tight game against big-name schools. Elder was ranked number 3 with a record of 3-0 before the game against St. Eds.
Elder now falls to 3-1 after the loss; the final score being 17-14. Two key players for St. Edward were runningback Marvin Bell and defensive linemen Wyatt Gedeon. Marvin Bell has had a great season so far. He has rushed over 100 yards in the past three consecutive games for the Eagles.
Against the Elder Panthers, Bell rushed 178 yards in 24 carriers, even scoring the first touchdown of the night for the Eagles. Wyatt Gedeon was relentless on defense the entire game. Gedeon had 2.5 sacks, 2 of which occured in the second half on third down possessions preventing Elder from scoring a touchdown.
The Panthers came out hot to start the first quarter. The Eagles got the ball at the kickoff but quickly threw an interception leading to a touchdown for for runningback Luke Flowers for Elder. St. Edward tried to establish their run game but the defense by Elder forced the Eagles quarterback, Casey Bullock to pass the ball more than Head Coach Tom Lombardo would have wanted. This led to another interception by the Panthers and the second straight possession that ended in a turnover for St. Edward.
The turnovers continued—this time for the Panthers—who fumbled the ball to give St. Eds the final possession of the first quarter. At the end of the first 12 minutes of play, Elder led St. Edward 7-0.
In the second quarter, the Eagles began to gather themselves. They pushed down field with their hurry-up offense that sent the Panthers on their heels. Led by Marvin Bell’s dominance on offense, and Wyatt Gedeon’s defensive presence, the Eagles gained momentum. A 29-yard field goal attempt by Benjamin Lavelle, put the Eagles first points on the board and ended the half 7-3 in favor of Elder.
In the second half, Marvin Bell continued to lead the Eagles offense with help from running back Josh Gribble as well. An Eagle touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter pushed the Eagles ahead 10-7 and another huge 3rd down sack by Wyatt Gedeon stopped the Panthers from being able to answer.
In the fourth quarter, Casey Bullock took charge, rushing a touchdown for the Eagles giving his team a 10-point lead. Elder had success in the fourth quarter passing the ball which led them into field goal territory. But, the 34-yard field goal attempt for Elder was no good.
The Eagles got the ball back but had yet another turnover and fumbled the ball at the 50-yard line. This possession led to a touchdown by wide receiver Justin Re. The score was now 17-14 with a little over 2 minutes left in the game. The Eagles held on for another win.
The key to St. Ed’s success tonight was their defense. In the game against Cherry Creek, the Eagle defense struggled to get off the field on third down. In the first half, the Bruins had the ball on offense for 17 out of the entire 24 minutes. However, in the game against the Panthers, St. Eds defensive ability to get stops on third downs was pivotal to their victory.
This weeks player of the game is awarded to St. Edward running back Marvin Bell. Bell plays with so much heart and grit while never giving up on any play. The Eagles move to 4-0 on the season and will travel away to face Massillon Washington High School at 7 o’clock.
