Edon Pulls Away in Second Half to Defeat Antwerp, 35-12
ANTWERP — Antwerp battled Edon through the opening half Friday night, but a strong second-half performance by the Bombers allowed Edon to pull away for a 35-12 victory on August 28.
The two teams played through a scoreless opening quarter before Antwerp broke through with six points in the second period. Edon answered with a touchdown of its own and carried a 7-6 advantage into halftime. The momentum remained with the Bombers after the break, as Edon scored 14 points in both the third and fourth quarters. Antwerp added six points in the third quarter but was held scoreless in the fourth.
Antwerp finished with 341 yards of total offense, edging Edon’s 335 yards. The Archers did most of their damage on the ground, rushing 33 times for 173 yards, an average of 5.2 yards per carry.
Robert Montgomery led the Antwerp rushing attack with 47 yards on five carries, averaging 9.4 yards per attempt. Ryder Hines added 49 yards on 12 carries, Luke Jones rushed four times for 40 yards and Gage Clevinger contributed 37 yards on 12 attempts.
Through the air, Hines completed 10 of 21 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while Carson Hughes completed two of five attempts for 13 yards. Antwerp finished 12-of-26 passing for 168 yards, but three interceptions proved costly.
Brayden Fuller was the Archers’ top receiving threat, hauling in five passes for 91 yards and both Antwerp touchdowns. Gabriel Wenzlick added two catches for 47 yards, while Parker Bermejo, Weston Rhonehouse, Cadem Ingol, Michael Rohrs and Clevinger also recorded receptions.
Edon’s offense was held to minus-15 rushing yards, with the stat sheet noting that total included a 22-yard loss on a bad snap. The Bombers instead did nearly all of their damage through the air, completing 35 of 46 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns. Antwerp came away with one interception.
The Archers and Bombers each recorded 11 first downs. Antwerp was penalized nine times for 60 yards compared with five penalties for 45 yards for Edon. Both teams also lost one fumble.
Fuller contributed on special teams as well, returning a punt 10 yards, while Clevinger had two kickoff returns for 21 yards and Parker Lucas returned three kicks for 43 yards. Wenzlick handled Antwerp’s punting duties, averaging 25 yards on four punts.
The game was much closer statistically than the final score indicated, with only six yards separating the teams in total offense. After a scoreless first quarter and a one-point game at halftime, Edon took control over the final two quarters to secure the 35-12 victory.