by It was a brisk Friday night for the first round of playoffs. This contest saw the Findlay Trojans travel to take on the St. Edward Eagles. The Eagles won the contest in a lopsided fashion, winning 48-0.
The Findlay Trojans came out moving the sticks right away with a few nice plays. Findlay’s own Landon Echelberry was able to connect with his receiver Reece Little for a nice gain of 12 yards on 2nd down. However, a strong opening drive was ended after a nice stance from the Eagles defense.
St. Edward came out with a balanced attack running and passing the ball. Running back Tyrese Buchanan had a nice rush for 22 yards to start their first drive. The Eagles were moving the chains fast after a gain of well over 30 yards from quarterback Will Addington to receiver Ryan Mikovsky. Quarterback Thomas Csanyi had a nice keeper to get the Eagles down to the 1-yard line. Power back Nate Gregory entered the contest for the Eagles to punch it in for a touchdown to put St. Edwards up 7-0 at the 7:32 mark in the 1st quarter.
Findlay came back out to start their second offensive drive of the contest hoping to build on what they started on their first drive. However, the Eagle’s defense came out swarming forcing the Trojans to punt the ball away after a quick 3 and out.
The screen pass connection from Csanyi to Mikovsky was clicking on all cylinders getting the Eagles down the field quickly. Running back Bradley Eaton entered the contest and was running hard. He picked up a nice gain of 10 yards and another nice run to get them all the way down to the Trojans 2 2-yard line. The Eagles gave it right back to him punching it in for another St. Edward’s touchdown. This made the score 14-0 at the 3:45 mark in the 1st quarter.
Findlay’s offense took the field and once again their offensive struggles continued. A couple of bad snaps and a fumble in the backfield called for a quick 3 and out and they were yet again forced to punt the ball away.
On the first play of St. Edward’s third drive of the game, they fumbled the ball on a handoff but were able to recover it after the Trojans failed to notice the ball was loose. Csanyi was doing it all connecting with his receivers and scrambling for yardage. This marked the end of the 1st quarter and saw the Eagles up 14-0.
St. Edward was moving the chains to start the second quarter. Csanyi connected to his receiver Brody Costin for a 22-yard touchdown. This put the Eagles up 21-0.
Findlay’s struggles continued as their offense took the field once again. Another poor snap set them back 12 yards and ultimately forced yet another quick 3 and out and they were forced to put again.
Eaton came back out in the 2nd quarter running strong. He picked up a strong 23-yard rush with some help from his offensive line to get them into Trojan territory. Csanyi found receiver Casey Kelley for an 18-yard touchdown reception. This put St. Edward up 28-0 at the 6:41 mark in the 2nd quarter.
Findlay’s offense took the field hoping to finally get something going offensively. However, their snap issues continued, and the Eagles forced yet another 3 and out.
The St. Edward’s offense showed no signs of slowing down. Csanyi had two nice quarterback keepers for a total of 22 yards on back-to-back plays. The Eagles found themselves facing a 4th and 1 on the 8-yard line deep in Trojan territory. The Eagles handed the ball off to power back Gregory to pick up an 8-yard rushing touchdown. This made the score 35-0.
Findlay got the ball back and yet again had another quick 3 and out. St. Edward got the ball back, but their drive was a little silent to start. The Eagles found themselves on their own 22-yard line and facing a 3rd and 14. The Eagles were able to pick up the first down after a huge 33-yard gain from Csanyi to Kelley. The Eagles were moving the chains and found themselves in Trojan territory. Time in the first half was expiring and Csanyi was trying to make something happen but threw an interception. This ended the half, and the Eagles went into the break 35-0 over the Trojans.
The 3rd quarter started seeing St. Edward’s receiving the ball as well as there being a running clock due to the mercy rule. On the second play of the Eagles’ 3rd quarter drive, running back Anthony Camargo had a huge rush of 69 yards all the way down to the 1-yard line. The Eagles gave it right back to Camargo to punch it in for another St. Edward’s touchdown. This made the score 42-0 at the 9:39 mark to start the 3rd quarter.
It was a lackluster 3rd quarter after the Eagles touchdown. The 4th quarter started with the Eagles up 42-0 and both teams having some quick 3 and outs. However, St. Edward was moving the chains and got deep into Trojan’s territory. Backup quarterback Caden Yondo threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Landon Lehmer. This made the score 48-0 after a missed extra point with 2:33 remaining in the contest. Findlay got the ball back but fumbled seeing the Eagles recover it to end the game.
