by St Edwards head coach Tom Lombardo grabs himself his 200th career win with the Eagles in a 22-12 victory over Canada Football North. Eds secured the win thanks to strong performances from Junior Receiver Zach Hackleman and the entire Eagles defense.
After a three and out from each team, the Eagles found themselves in good field position after a shanked punt from Football North. Facing a 4th and 1 from the 35, the Eagles made the gutsy call to go for it and were successful. The next play, Quarterback Thomas Cysani found receiver Zach Hackleman for a 31 yard touchdown pass. After a blocked PAT the Eagles went up 6-0 halfway through the first.
After another 3 and out, St. Eds found themselves in a very similar position. This time starting at Football North’s 38 yard line, the Eagles had to overcome 2 crucial 4th downs before Cysani found his running back Bradley Eaton for a 14 yard score. Another blocked PAT made the game 12-0 with 2 minutes left in the first.
Football North’s offense still couldn’t get the offense rolling, even after a tremendous one handed interception from cornerback Jorel Sahay. Giving the ball to Eds in good field position set them up for a 32 yard field goal, making the game 15-0 with 7 left in the half.
The game would remain 15-0 going into halftime. The biggest storylines of the half were St Eds’ defense and junior receiver Zach Heckleman. The Eagles defense held Football North’s offense to 0 points and 100 total yards of offense. Zach Heckleman found his spot in the Eagles record books, breaking St Edwards single season receiving yard record.
Football North got the ball to start the and drove the ball down the field on a long double digit play drive. They found themselves with a 4th and 2 at the 20 yard line and were unable to pick up the first down.
Luckily for North they got the ball right back after an interception from linebacker Shane Keyes Wilson. Starting at the 23 Football north put together their first scoring drive of the game with a 1 yard touchdown from running back Lucas Shannon. These 2 drives took up the entire 3rd quarter and made the game 15-6 after a missed PAT.
After a few punts St eds was set up in business at the 24 yard line with 7 minutes to play thanks to a 3 yard punt from Football North. The Eagles capitalized with a great 6 yard touchdown catch by Thomas Hackleman, where he somehow kept both feet in bounds. This made the score 22-6 with 5:51 left in the game.
Football North wasn’t done yet however as they drove quickly down field thanks to 2 catches combining for over 60 yards from junior receiver Zion Grant. They finished the drive with a 4 yard touchdown catch from senior Lucas Weir. They attempted to go for 2 but were unsuccessful making the game 22-12 with 4:20 left in the game.
St Edwards recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock, ending the game with a 22-12 victory.
St Edwards looks for a win in their penultimate game next week traveling to Cincinnati to face Archbishop Moeller, while Football North looks to get back into the win column as their road journey continues to St. Frances Academy Regional in Maryland.
Players of the Game
St Edward’s Junior Receiver Zach Hackleman – 10 catches 141 yards and 2 touchdowns, Eagles single season receiving record
St Edwards Defense – 262 yards and 12 points given up, 2 turnovers 4 TFLs and a sack.
