Edgewood Mustangs blank Owen Valley 34-0, move to 4-0

In Spencer on Friday night, Owen Valley and Edgewood played the first 12 minutes of football without a score by either team.

But on the first play of the second quarter, Mustangs quarterback Braylon Linerode found senior running back Gunnar Perry galloping down the middle of the field for a 55-yard touchdown strike.

After that, the Mustangs were in control of the rivalry game and never let go. Behind two first-half touchdown passes, consistent running by Braxton Carpenter and Jaxton Collier, and a defense that intercepted two passes by Owen Valley, Edgewood rolled to a 34-0 win.

Edgewood’s win gives the Mustangs a 34–20 advantage in the rivalry series that dates back to 1972.

After the game, Edgewood head coach Scott Fischer said next week’s practice would focus on “communication and execution on the offensive side of things.” Fischer continued, “I thought our defense played a really good game. They bent a couple times, but for the most part shut them down.”

Aside from one long pass late in the fourth quarter, after the game was already decided, the Mustangs didn’t give up big pass plays. “We improved immensely in terms of our deep ball defense, which really hurt us last week,” Fischer said. Last week was a close 31-30 victory over South Putnam.

The slow start to the game was not without some big plays. The Mustangs nearly turned a special-teams miscue by the Patriots into an early chance. They recovered a blocked punt at the Patriots 12-yard line. But that possession stalled, and kicker Kade Gilchrist pulled a 34-yard field goal attempt wide right.

Owen Valley answered the Edgewood touchdown from Perry with a first down. But a pass from quarterback Parker Philippe was intercepted by Tobias Connors, setting Edgewood up at the 31-yard line of the Patriots. Moments later, the Mustangs struck again–a 31-yard touchdown pass to William Hosey, which came at the 8:43 mark of the second quarter. Gilchrist tacked on the extra point, and Edgewood led 14-0.

About the two touchdown passes in the second quarter, Fischer said, “We hit some good ones on them—they packed the box, eight guys in there, sometimes nine.” Fischer wants to see stronger performance from the running game. “In my opinion, we gotta execute that better at the point of attack.” But generally, Fischer was happy with the 4–0 start: “I thought overall—we figured it out in the second half.”

Edgewood went to the locker room up 14-0, but that left Owen Valley just two scores down.

The Patriots had hoped to regroup out of the break, but Edgewood’s run game and opportunistic defense slammed the door.

After the Mustangs marched to the 16-yard line, Eli Lirot took a handoff on third-and-11, looked like he would be stopped well short of the first down, but rumbled ahead for a touchdown at the 5:12 mark of the third quarter.

Coach Fischer said about Lirot: “Eli’s gonna be a heck of a running back for us—only a sophomore. He’s a big, strong kid—incredible athlete.” Fischer added, “He’s going to be a real weapon for us.”

Gilchrist’s extra point attempt was blocked, leaving the score at 20-0.

An interception return for a touchdown that covered more than 65 yards, by Edgewood senior defensive back Reece Roberts, ended what had been shaping up as a good drive for the Patriots. With about a minute to go in the third quarter, the extra point made the score 27-0.

With 8 minutes to go in the game, the Mustangs were again banging on the barn door at the 28-yard line of the Patriots—set up with strong running down the left sidelines on successive plays by Jaxton Collier. Eli Lirot caught a ball from Linerode in the left flat, and eluded two defenders who seemed ready to take him down. That closed out the scoring.

A late-game sequence saw the Patriots bring the ball to the 13-yard but turned the ball over one downs.

Instead of locking down the game, Edgewood went a little bit backwards on their ensuing possession. But Gunnar Perry, who handles the punting duties, got the Mustangs out of immediate danger. The Patriots were able to get the ball back to the 25-yard line of the Mustangs, but again turned the ball over on downs with the final seconds ticking away.

Owen Valley (1-3) next week is away at Northview. Edgewood (4-0) heads to West Vigo to take on the Vikings.