Vermilion beats Edison, 37-7

MILAN TWP. — Vermilion showed why it's one of the area's best teams as it bounced back from its first conference loss of the season to defeat Edison 37-7 on Friday at Freedom Field. One of the key sequences came in the third quarter when the Chargers got on the board after Evan Schnittker connected with Grant Parker for a 10-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 20-7 after Carter Jones' extra point. The Sailors (7-2, 2-1 NOC Bay) went backwards on the ensuing possession and were forced to punt, giving Edison the ball at its 35. Unfortunately, a fumble on the snap on the next play was recovered by Vermilion, which took over at the 33. Seven plays later, Brody Morrow kicked a 25-yard field goal to push the lead to 16 with 58.8 seconds to play in the third quarter. "We really challenged the kids this week to come in and establish themselves, put the work in, and then let's have fun and play on Friday night," Vermilion coach Bill DiFucci said. "We said that going into last week that the Huron game would be a tough ballgame. It was a heck of a football game. "We needed some guys to step up and Huron made more plays than we did last week." The Chargers drove 40 yards in four plays, but with a third-and-2 at the Sailors' 36, a quarterback sneak resulted in a fumble. It was recovered by Vermilion defensive lineman Luke Richardson at the 32 on the third play of the fourth quarter. The Sailors methodically moved down the field, covering 68 yards and finishing up the drive on a nine-yard touchdown run by Landon Mooney up the middle with 6:24 to play. The extra point lifted the lead to 30-7, putting Edison behind by three possessions. Three minutes into the game, Sailors running back Isaac Kyser took a handoff to the left, broke a tackle and raced down the sidelines for a 70-yard touchdown run. That gave Vermilion the lead for good, 6-0, before Morrow's extra point. "That's who we are. We knew it was going to be a windy, rainy night, (so) we knew we weren't going to have as many opportunities to throw the ball," DiFucci said. "We run the football and play great defense. We tell the offensive line, 'We go how they go.' They did a great job of opening holes for us. We have a few backs that are hard, explosive runners, and we let them show off their skills. On the ensuing possession, Schnittker was hit from behind and the ball was recovered by the Sailors at the Edison 37-yard line. Kyser ran three times on the ensuing drive's four plays, scoring on a 10-yard touchdown scamper. The extra point made it 14-0. Vermilion's next possession saw the Sailors turn it over at their own 23, but the Chargers (2-7, 0-3) failed to convert. The Sailors were forced to punt on the ensuing possession and Edison drove from its 46 to the Vermilion 17, only to fumble the ball. That was recovered by the Sailors with 8:16 to play in the second quarter. Vermilion drove 87 yards in 14 plays, but failed to convert on two attempts from the one-foot line. However, a fumbled snap on fourth down was recovered by the Chargers at the 1. "We know playing Edison is going to be tough because they're well-coached, disciplined, they play hard, so the game is never out of reach, as far as I'm concerned," DiFucci said. "We had to buckle up and play for four quarters." But three plays later, Schnittker lofted a pass for Parker, who was held by Vermilion cornerback Micah Smith. No flag was thrown and Smith intercepted the pass, taking it to the 20. A penalty on the Chargers on the return moved the ball to the 10 and Mooney scored on a five-yard touchdown run with 38.5 seconds left, giving the Sailors a 20-0 lead at the half. Edison turned the ball over four times, including three fumbles. The Sailors host Bellevue next week with a Northern Ohio Conference Bay Division title and valuable computer points on the line. Vermilion hasn't won a league title since DiFucci was a senior and he led the Sailors to an Erie Shore Conference championship in 1992. "We're putting ourselves in a position to win a conference title at home. We have a tough Bellevue team coming in, they've been playing great football," DiFucci said. "It's Week 10 at home with a ton of points on the table. We've been all over the place in terms of the conferences we've been in. "I tell them, I want them to have the moments and the memories that I've had." Vermilion 14 6 3 14 — 37 Edison 0 0 7 0 — 7 V — Isaac Kyser 70 run (Brody Morrow kick) V — Kyser 10 run (Morrow kick) V — Landon Mooney 5 run (kick failed) E — Grant Parker 10 pass from Evan Schnittker (Carter Jones kick) V — Morrow 25 field goal V — Mooney 9 run (Morrow kick) V — Mooney 11 run (Morrow kick)