Balanced running game leads Edison past Eastwood

CLYDE — As the weather gets colder, Bryson Wittmer and the rest of Edison will be harder to stop. Against Eastwood on Friday, the bruiser showed balance, trucking defenders at times, but also showing bursts of speed. Wittmer had 214 yards of offense and three touchdowns in the first half, leading top-seeded Edison to a 49-28 Division V Region 18 playoff win at Bob Bishop Stadium at Clyde High School. "He's a heck of an athlete for his size at 225 pounds," said Edison coach Jim Hall of the junior. "He can run and he's fast. He's athletic with great ball skills." The Chargers improved to 13-0 and will face No. 2 Liberty Center (13-0) in the regional final next Friday at a site to be determined this weekend. "It's special," Hall said. "It's kind of surreal at times because you don't want to get ahead of yourself, but these guys believe in their journey. They believe in what they can do." Wittmer finished with 16 carries for 209 yards. Quarterback Abe Hermes added 12 rushes for 104 yards, Cayden Clere tallied 10 rushes for 87 yards and Cy Finnen contributed 19 attempts for 82 yards. "The whole idea is to have balance and force them to defend multiple things," Hall said. "Having Abe being able to run option is huge because it creates more issues for them." Edison first forced the Eagles (11-2) to go three-and-out and after punting the ball back to Eastwood, forced a turnover on downs. The Eagles picked up a pair of first downs, but Edison got the stop it needed. That led to Wittmer's first huge play. Edison tallied its first first down of the game and on the next play, Hermes had to scramble, but kept the play alive until he found Wittmer behind the defense for a 63-yard dime. The extra point by Alex Davidson made it 7-0 with 3:11 left in the first quarter. "It was supposed to be a fade," Hermes said. "We were hoping the defenders would come up on that motion we ran, but the safety stayed deep. Good job by him. I was able to scramble and Bryson was able to keep running. We were able to make a play." Eastwood then went three-and-out again and Edison's offense kept moving. The Chargers were a lot more methodical on their next drive, guzzling exactly six minutes off the clock. Big runs by Wittmer, Finnen, and Hermes allowed the Chargers to churn out yards. After an offsides penalty on Eastwood aided Edison, Hermes kept it around the left side for a nine-yard TD run. Davidson made it 14-0 with 7:45 to go in the half. Then, things got a little wild. Eastwood used a big kickoff return by Cam Schumaker to set up shop at the Edison 22. After a first down, the Eagles faced third-and-goal at the Edison 1. But, the Chargers stuffed quarterback Drew Luidhardt and Wittmer broke up a fourth-down pass to qualm the threat. It came one week after Edison twice denied Triway inside the 5. The Chargers cashed in. Hermes went for nine yards and Finnen for eight yards and a first down. But that just set up Wittmer for a massive gain. He busted through the line and was off to the races in front of the Edison sideline for an 82-yard score. Davidson's PAT made it 21-0 with 2:54 left in the second quarter. "That was huge in a game like this because we knew they were going to put up points," Hall said. "We knew a key was to get our offense running and try to control the clock and control the ball. I thought getting a couple stops early and forcing them to punt was huge because they don't do a lot of punting." Eastwood had the response though as for the first time all night, Edison kicked deep. The Eagles made them pay as Dayquan Oliver went almost untouched for an 87-yard TD. All that did was allow Edison another possession. Finnen picked up a pair of first downs before Wittmer exploded for a 41-yard gain. On the next play, Wittmer rumbled in from a yard out to give Edison a 28-7 lead with 1:21 remaining in the first half. Eastwood's offense showed how explosive and quick it could be, using its passing game and timeouts to quickly move down the field. Luidhardt hit five passes for first downs before finding Andre Lewis for a four-yard touchdown. That cut the Edison lead to 28-14 at halftime. "They throw the ball well," Hall said. "They have great skilled kids. We were fortunate to hold them to 28, to be honest. Our guys played good defense. Sometimes offenses will get you. Really happy they made some plays when they needed to." The break to regroup did little to slow down Wittmer. With Eastwood electing to receive the opening kickoff of the game, that gave Edison possession to start the second half. Hermes went for 23 yards on the first play of the drive and later, Wittmer's 10-yard run gave Edison another first down. A few plays later, Wittmer again went around the left side and scored on a 14-yard carry. Davidson made it 35-14 less than three minutes into the third quarter. Eastwood was able to respond as Kevin Lewis scored on a 12-yard touchdown run, but Edison was able to keep pace. The Chargers again slowed it down and meticulously moved down the field. Edison chewed 6:42 off the clock, picking up five first downs. In the end, Hermes rumbled in from a yard out to keep Edison up 42-21 with 0:45 to go in the third quarter. "Our guys block," Hall said. "I can't give enough credit to those guys up front that are doing the job that nobody sees. They're creating seams for the guys to run through." Eastwood then made a run at it, but Edison made a big defensive play to cut the rally short. The Eagles scored on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Luidhardt to Schumaker and then recovered an onside kick. Eastwood was able to move to the Edison red zone, but Grayson Smith came up with a huge interception to thwart the Eagles' chance. That allowed the ground game to get back to work for Edison. The Eagles got two first down runs apiece by Hermes and Clere before Clere scored on a two-yard rumble. The point-after by Davidson made it 49-28 with 5:40 to play. "He's one of the guys we talk about as far as guys that run the ball and are aggressive and tough," said Hall of Clere. "He's bought into it and he's part of it. He blocks when it is his turn to block and when he gets the chance to run, he can do something." Luidhardt was 18-of-30 passing for 254 yards. Edison finished with 57 rushes for 482 yards as a team. It is by far the most yards the Chargers have rushed for in a game this season. "That's our M.O. We run the ball hard and we hit hard," Hermes said. "That's our goal on offense. We want to keep pounding and eat up clock. That's how we play." Eastwood 0 14 7 7 — 28Edison 7 21 14 7 — 49 Ed — Bryson Wittmer 63 pass from Abe Hermes (Alex Davidson kick)Ed — Hermes 9 run (Davidson kick)Ed — Wittmer 82 run (Davidson kick)Ea — Dayquan Oliver 87 kickoff return (Mason Chaffee kick)Ed — Wittmer 1 run (Davidson kick)Ea — Andre Lewis 4 pass from Drew Luidhardt (Chaffee kick)Ed — Wittmer 14 run (Davidson kick)Ea — Kevin Lewis 12 run (Chaffee kick)Ed — Hermes 1 run (Davidson kick)Ea — Cam Schumaker 48 pass from Luidhardt (Chaffee kick)Ed — Cayden Clere 2 run (Davidson kick)