Eastwood 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior quarterback Kaidyn Donnell shakes off Edison junior defensive back Davin Wendt for a long gain. Donnell had 11 carries for 140 yards, but the Eagles could not find the end zone in a 38-7 loss. (Lee Welch/Sentinel-Tribune)
MILAN — Four Milan Edison backs ran for 371 yards to lead the Chargers to a 38-7 Division regional quarterfinal victory over visiting Eastwood Friday.
The Eagles, runners-up in the Northern Buckeye Conference, see their season end with a 9-3 record. Edison, 11-1, advances to take on Coldwater in a regional semifinal next Friday.
Eastwood ran for 212 yards and but failed to convert any points on three first half drives that seemed destined to find their way into the end zone.
“We just gave up some big plays and we didn’t execute after our big plays,” Eastwood first-year coach Sam Cotterman said.
“I think in the first half we were in the red zone three times and when things got a little tougher we just didn’t make the plays. Players make plays and we just didn’t do it tonight.”
Edison had just three more first downs, 15 to 12, but Eastwood junior quarterback Kaidyn Donnell struggled to hit his mark in winds gusting to over 30 miles-per-hour, completing just 9-of-20 passes for 42 yards.
Donnell did have success on the ground, averaging double digits per run by carrying the ball 11 times for 140 yards, and senior running back Caiden Maize garnered 75 yards on 12 carries.
Maize scored Eastwood’s only touchdown on a seven-yard run with 5:22 remaining in the game, capping off a seven play, 71-yard drive.
Maize had runs of 18 and 17 yards to start the drive and Donnell converted consecutive passes to junior receiver Dayquan Oliver for 16 and three yards to set up Maize’s TD run. It was some consolation after so many drives that did not result in points.
“I don’t think it was a 38-7 final game,” Cotterman said. “I think we left a lot out there, but I’m very proud of the kids’ effort. They played their butts off and hopefully we’ll be back here.”
The problem was Eastwood’s defense had no answer for the running of Edison senior quarterback Marcus Medina, junior running back Luke Blatnik, junior running back Cy Finnen, and sophomore back Bryson Wittmer.
Medina and Blatnik were speedsters who got around the end on jet sweeps before Eastwood’s defense could catch up.
Finnen was the one keeping Eastwood’s defense honest by running off tackle or off guard, and the 6-foot, 225-pound Wittmer was the bruiser, blocking for the others or running through people.
Wittmer had six carries for 172 yards, including an 88-yard TD run, Medina had 12 carries for 133 yards and a 26-yard TD, Blatnik had six carries for 51 yards and a 30-yard TD, and Finnen had eight carries for 17 yards and a five-yard TD run.
“They come off the ball hard and they have great team speed,” Cotterman said.
Plus, the Chargers got it done with linemen on both sides of the ball averaging 20 pounds less per man than Eastwood, but their backs were either too fast or too hard to take down.
“We’re undersized,” Edison coach Jim Hall said. “Marcus is a playmaker and a couple runs he had in the first half were just off schedule plays where we had something else designed and he was able to break it off and make plays.
“It’s been a part of the recipe to get those guys the ball in as many different ways as we can to let them to make plays and we were fortunate enough that they did it tonight.
“We try to get the ball to all those backs. That was something we saw that maybe we could take advantage of. Marcus did a great job.”
Medina only threw three passes, completing all of them for 78 yards, including a 54-yard TD strike to Blatnik.
For Eastwood, junior receiver Brock Messinger had a 32-yard completion from Oliver, who took the lateral from Donnell and showed off his southpaw touch by finding a wide-open Messinger.
Oliver caught four passes for 26 yards, Maize had two catches for six yards, junior Andre Lewis had two catches for five yards and senior Kaiden Sanchez had a five-yard reception.
Defensively for Eastwood, Oliver had five tackles, senior linebacker Andrew Badenhop had 4½ tackles, junior linebacker Kevin Lewis had four tackles, and Sanchez had 3½ tackles.
The Eagles had eight senior starters, but many of the playmakers are underclassmen, leaving Cotterman to feel optimistic about the program’s future. His first year at the helm wasn’t so bad, either.
“I love it. The kids, I told them here, you come in and had to deal with a different personality, they had to deal with a different offense,” Cotterman said.
“They did it with a smile on their face, with excitement and I can’t be more proud of them, accepting me and letting me in here, and accepting some of the new coaching in here. I’m just thankful to be here.”
Meanwhile, Edison advances to take on an 11-1 Coldwater team that defeated a higher-seeded Archbold (10-2) squad, 28-14, on the Blue Streaks’ field Friday.
“Excellent football tradition and I’d like to think we’re in there as well,” Hall said. “It’s a challenge after that. Our guys want to be in these games, so they look at it as a challenge.”
