By Sue Moore
The first time Edwardsburg got its hands on the football, they were able to move smartly down the field and score, utilizing almost invisible handoffs to a backfield of swift runners out of an old fashioned T formation backfield. Score was 6-0 before much time had elapsed from the starting bell, but missing on an attempted two point conversion.
Vicksburg almost immediately threw an interception on the Eddies 40 yard line and again they marched down the field after a personal foul penalty against the Bulldogs gave them momentum. Score was now 14-0 without kicking the extra point, instead running the ball in with 1:14 left in the quarter.
Quarterback Dalton Ketelaar took over for Vicksburg in the second quarter, almost willing his successive runs to pick up first downs to keep the drive alive. His pass to Hunter Van to the Eddies 25 yard line was a key play. He was hurried on the next pass to Van but got it off just in time to find Van all alone in the corner of the end zone. Score 14-6 with the extra point try negated due to a fumbled snap.
Things seemed to be looking up until Edwardsburg brought the kickoff to its 45 yard line and moved right down the field once again for a big score, using their lightning fast backs against a defense that just couldn’t contain them. Score now 20-6 with the two point conversion try no good once again.
With the clock running down in the first half, Ketelaar was engineering a nice drive until he was forced out of the pocket, and threw an interception in the end zone with 1:09 left before the teams left to regroup at half time.
The Bulldogs barely touched the ball in the second half, as the Eddies dominated. Several Vicksburg players got dinged up, but came right back on the field, determined to turn things around. It wasn’t to be as they only had the ball for two possessions while Edwardsburg scored a touchdown at the 6:03 mark in the third quarter and another score in the fourth quarter to ice the game at 34-6.
“Our guys played their hearts out,” Coach Tom Marchase said afterwards. “We had a good week of practice, with the team giving its maximum effort every day. Our opponent had some big plays and we had some missed opportunities in the first half that could have swung the momentum our way.”