Edinboro once again found themselves trailing late in a game, but were able to rally for a win, 42-34, against Seton Hill.
“I’m just so proud of their fight,” said head coach Justin Lustig.
“I’m really proud of this coaching staff, working hard and putting in long hours and the players are really responding.”
Seton Hill struck first with a 12-yard pass from quarterback Christian Strong to wide receiver Norman Darden. It took Edinboro all of 45 seconds to respond, with a 60-yard pass from Jake Sisson to T’Naz Gregory. Gregory was on a crossing route and snatched the pass right out of the air. Then Gregory turned on the jets and was gone for the touchdown.
The next two scores would belong to Seton Hill. They scored on a 1-yard run from Khalil Howard and a 37-yard run from Michael Elardo.
With 5:54 left to go in the first quarter, Edinboro would find the end zone on a 1-yard pass from Sisson to Jordan Williams. Seton Hill would answer with another 1-yard run from Howard.
Sisson would find a streaking Alex Caratelli on a 72-yard pass. Caratelli beat the coverage across the middle as a defender fell trying to catch him. Caratelli would all but walk into the end zone untouched for six.
It would take until the 7:46 mark of the third quarter for Seton Hill to score again. Strong would find Norman for a 30-yard touchdown.
This would be their final score of the game. Edinboro would respond just three minutes later with a Walter Fletcher 1-yard run for six.
Sisson would find the end zone two more times. First, he hit on a 19-yard pass to James Clark. The final score was a 2-yard pass to Williams.
“It wasn’t our best game. Both sides, offense and defense, were a little sloppy. But a win is a win and I’ll take it,” Sisson said.
“You know this win feels great, but then come Sunday night it’s back to 0-0 and we get after our first win.”
Sisson had another banner day. He had 42 completions on 62 attempts for a total of 463 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Three Edinboro receivers went over the century mark, the second time that’s happened this season. Clark had 141 yards, Caratelli had 119 yards, and Gregory had 119 yards. Each had one touchdown.
Williams had 69 yards, but added two touchdowns on the day. Fletcher had issues getting the run going early in the day, but he finished strong with 79 yards and a touchdown.
On the defensive side of the ball, they struggled by giving up 219 yards rushing and 326 yards through the air. However, after some halftime adjustments, the defense locked it up and held Seton Hill scoreless for the entire fourth quarter.
Mitch Thomas had an interception and Zuril Hendrick had two interceptions. It was Hendrick’s second interception — on Seton Hill’s first, fourth quarter possession — that set the tone. Strong was looking for Elardo, but found Hendrick instead, who made a great acrobatic catch, elevating above everyone else to come down with the ball.
“I just didn’t give up on the play and came down with ball,” Hendrick said. “Coach always tells us, bend don’t break. If they score we got to have a short memory and get the next stop.” Victor Hudson had a standout day as well with two solo sacks. One of those sacks came late in the fourth to seal the victory for the Fighting Scots.
Seton Hill had the ball on their own 26-yard line. Edinboro had switched to a 3-4 defensive front. Hudson was on the left, Ethan Upperco was on the right side, and Jon Girvin was in the center. At the snap of the ball Girvin dropped backed to cover the middle crossing routes. Hudson and Upperco rushed from their sides. All five Seton Hill lineman could not stop the duo of Hudson and Upperco from reaching and sacking the quarterback.
The Edinboro Fighting Scots travel to Cal this Saturday in an attempt to earn their share of the PSAC West title.
George Schmidt is a sports writer for The Spectator.
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