SECTION IV, 8-MAN FOOTBALL: NOTRE'S DAME'S QUICK START DOESN'T DETER EDISON IN 42-18 WIN (24 PHOTOS) (2021-09-18)

By TIM BIRNEY
Southern Tier Sports Report
ELMIRA HEIGHTS — Notre Dame got off to a quick start, but Edison took charge up front and dominated with its ground game in a 42-18 win here Saturday afternoon at Erickson Stadium in Section IV, 8-man football action.

It’s the first time the Spartans have beaten the Crusaders since 2011.

“It’s a good win for us, we’re a young program, and we’re still a very young team,” said Edison coach Kyle Erickson.

“Any win against Notre Dame is big for our program and our school,” he noted. “We don’t get to beat them often, and we’ve taken a lot of beatings from them in the past.

“It was nice to come out on top for once,” added Erickson.

The Crusaders recovered an onside kick at the Edison 49 to open the game. After a holding call, they faced a second-and-20 at the Spartan 40, but QB Griffin English ripped off consecutive runs of 15 and 10 yards to give Notre Dame a first down at the 15.

On the next play, English found Eric Bukowinski open in the back of the end zone behind a pair of defender for a 15-yard TD pass to give the Crusaders a 6-0 lead just 2 minutes into the game.

Edison fumbled the ball away at midfield on its first possession, but Notre Dame could not take advantage and was forced to punt.

The Spartans gave their fans a glimpse of things to come on its next possession with a drive deep into Notre Dame territory that featured a punishing ground game, including a 43-yard run by Michael Brown.

However, Bukowinski put an end to the drive with an interception at the Crusader 5.

Notre Dame again failed to capitalize and punted, but the Spartans again fumbled the ball away and Logan Meisner pounced on it to give the Crusaders the ball at the Edison 40.

Eleven plays later, English, who had four completions on the drive, scored on a 6-yard QB keeper to make it 12-0 with 10:23 remaining in the first half.

The rest of the game was all Edison

“We got off to a good start,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Johnston Sr. “(Edison) really outplayed us from that point on.

“We just broke down, either they made plays or we didn’t, which is what it comes down to.

“Edison did a nice job of stopping us,” added Johnson Sr. “They deserves a lot of credit, they’ve worked hard to get where they are.”

Erickson said the Spartans didn’t make any adjustments to keep the Crusaders off the board until the fourth quarter.

“It was more cleaning up mental mistakes,” he said. “We made a couple mistakes early, kind of goofed on the coverage a little bit. We were able to clean those up, and we were able to contain their offense.”

The Spartan ground game took over and pounded out 402 yards on 42 carries.

“We thought we could be very physical on the ground with them this week,” said Erickson. “It took us a while to get going, but once we established our dominance up front,we were very successful running the football.

“Our offensive line and ends — Kuyler Ripley at center, Alex Wheeler and Anthony Ballard at guards, and Cody Lucero and Evan Bush at ends —get a lot of credit this week,” added Erickson. “They blocked hard.”

On the first play after Notre Dame took its 12-0 lead, Kyle Walborn broke loose on a 69-yard run down the home sidelines before being hauled down at the Crusader 11. Two plays later, Brown scored on an 8-yard run to trim the deficit to 12-6 with 8:52 left in the half.

The Crusaders recovered an onside kick at the Spartan 49, but Lucero picked off an English pass on Notre Dame’s first play, and returned it deep into Crusader territory. However, a penalty flag for pass interference gave the ball back to Notre Dame.

Not to be deterred, George Smith picked off English’s next attempt and returned it to the Notre Dame 39.

Four plays later, Brown scampered 14 yards for a TD to tie the game with 5:14 remaining in the first half. Brown then connected with DeShon Cook on the conversion to give the Spartans the lead, at 14-12, which is where the game stood at halftime.

On the second play of the second half, Brown connected with Smith on a 60-yard TD pass to make it 20-12 just 53 seconds in.

Notre Dame’s next possession ended with a fumble at the Spartan 21. Three plays later, Walborn busted loose up the middle on a 61-yard TD run to make it 26-12 with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter.

The Crusaders put together a nice drive on its next possession that included a 22-yard reception by Bukowinski, and two catches by Johnson, but turned the ball over one downs at the Spartan 12.

After an exchange of possessions, the Spartans took over at the their 21 and needed just four plays to find paydirt. The last three runs were 20 yards by Walborn, 35 yards by Noah Bennett, and a 13-yard TD run by George Smith. Bennett tacked on the conversion run to give the Spartans a 34-12 lead with 58.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

After an exchange of punts, Notre Dame had the ball at its own 17. On the first play, Bennett picked off an English pass at the Crusader 20.

On Edison’s first play, Walborn scored on a 20-yard TD run with 9:36 left in the game. Bennett tacked on the conversion to make it 42-12.

Notre Dame answered with a seven-play, 58-yard drive that included a 14-yard pass from English to Dylan Clark, and was capped by Clark’s 29-yard TD run to trim the deficit to 42-18 with 6:35 left in the game.

Edison’s ground game, including three punishing runs by Cook that picked up 26 yards, was able to produce four first downs to run the final 6 1/2 minutes off the clock.


English completed 17 of 41 pass attempts for 158 yards, one TD, and two interceptions, and also ran for a team-high 62 yards and one TD on 17 carries.

Dylan Clark added 52 rushing yards and one TD, while Johnson led the Crusaders with seven receptions for 57 yards, and Bukowinski had six catches for 67 yards and one TD.

Edison, now 1-1, hosts Trumansburg Saturday, while Notre Dame, 0-2, travels to Lansing Friday.

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IN PHOTO 1: Edison’s Kyle Walborn. … PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.