Edison shakes Norwalk in second half

MILAN TWP. — Edison needed a response. The Chargers led by three touchdowns in the second quarter before Norwalk scored twice just over a minute apart. Instead of folding, Edison went to Bryson Wittmer. The bruising senior, still recovering from a hand injury, carried four times on the ensuing drive and capped it with a five-yard touchdown run. That pushed the Chargers' lead back to two touchdowns at halftime and Edison rolled to a 45-14 Sandusky Bay Conference crossover victory at Freedom Field on Friday. "Them getting that pick-6 wasn't ideal," said Wittmer of Norwalk slicing the lead to 21-14 in the second quarter. "That's what we work on every day. We work on those situations in practice every single day to face adversity. You can't go into every game and just win. You'll have adversity. "We work through that and make sure when adversity comes, we come together as a team." Wittmer finished with 13 carries for 87 yards. He sat out Edison's win over Johnstown Northridge last week after being hurt in a loss to Hopewell-Loudon two weeks ago. "He's banged up, but he's trying to play through it," Edison coach Jim Hall said. "He looked good tonight, so we'll see how it goes from here." Edison (4-1) led 21-0 after a 74-yard touchdown on a swing pass from Cole Leimeister to Coltyn Meagrow. The extra point from Alex Davidson came with 8:08 to go in the first half. Norwalk (1-4) showed quite a bit of fight from there. The Truckers picked up three first downs before converting on a fourth-and-one at the Edison 17. Two plays later, Gavin Lepley rumbled in from three yards out. The extra point from Thomas Vanderpool cut the Norwalk deficit to 21-7 with 3:13 to go. Edison responded with a first down on its next drive, but a pass from Leimeister was tipped and fell into the waiting arms of Brady Singer. He returned it 40 yards for the touchdown. Vanderpool sliced the Edison advantage to 21-14 with 2:12 left in the second quarter. But, that gave Wittmer and Edison plenty of time. A face mask penalty and Leimeister pass to Andy Strecker picked up two first downs. Cayden Clere went for 25 yards later before Wittmer's second touchdown of the night with 58 seconds left in the half. "I thought that drive was really big," Hall said. "The kids responded. Norwalk put a great drive together to score and then we turn it over and give up a pick-6. We've been in those situations and not responded well. This time, we responded the right way. "We put that drive together and put that score up just before half." The Chargers took advantage of receiving the second-half kickoff to extend the lead. Edison picked up a pair of first downs before a fumbled snap put the Chargers behind the sticks. Edison was able to push the margin to 31-14 when Davidson nailed a 33-yard field goal. After forcing a Norwalk punt, Edison continued to push the lead. A 35-yard pass from Leimeister to Brody McFadden jumpstarted the drive. From there, the ground game of Edison took turns until Ryder Kramb scored on a seven-yard carry. Davidson's extra point pushed the advantage to 38-14 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter. Silas Perez capped the scoring on an 11-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter. "We couldn't let down or take breaks," said Hall of the second half. "You can't think for a moment that maybe we have it under control. We had to battle the whole time, play after play. That was the message at halftime. We had to lock in and do what we did in the first half." Edison was in cruise control early. After forcing a Norwalk punt, the Chargers took advantage of a short field. They went 47 yards in six plays, capped on a 13-yard touchdown run by Clere. Davidson's extra point made it 7-0 with 5:02 remaining in the first quarter. The Truckers went three-and-out, which led to another touchdown drive by Edison. The Chargers overcame a 10-yard sack to Leimeister on the opening play of the drive. The senior quarterback hit passes of 15 and 16 yards to Meagrow to get things going. Later, Wittmer scored on an eight-yard carry. That gave Edison a 14-0 lead five seconds into the second quarter. "Norwalk was grinding," Hall said. "We have a lot that in us too. We don't mind running for three or four yards and keeping control of the clock and slowing things down. That's what they did and I respect that mentality because I like it myself. I thought they executed their offense pretty darn well." Edison opens Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division action at home next week against Bellevue (3-2). "It's a championship game," Hall said. "We get to play Bellevue at home in a championship atmosphere. That's how we better approach it because that's the kind of game it's going to be." Norwalk 0 14 0 0 — 14Edison 7 21 10 7 — 45 E — Cayden Clere 13 run (Alex Davidson kick)E — Bryson Wittmer 8 run (Davidson kick)E — Coltyn Meagrow 74 pass from Cole Leimeister (Davidson kick)N — Gavin Lepley 3 run (Thomas Vanderpool kick)N — Brady Singer 40 interception return (Vanderpool kick)E — Wittmer 5 run (Davidson kick)E — Davidson 33 field goalE — Ryder Kramb 7 run (Davidson kick)E — Silas Perez 11 run (Davidson kick)