Edinburgh’s defense takes control of game, holds Monroe Central to one TD

Now that’s the way to start a season.

Riding the arm of senior quarterback Sammy Wilkerson, who threw two touchdown passes, the Edinburgh football team delighted its home crowd with a 19-8 victory over visiting Monroe Central in Friday night’s season-opener.

Wilkerson, who sat out most of last season with a knee injury, completed 13 of 15 attempts for 147 yards. He was a perfect 9 for 9 in the second half.

The Lancers offensive attack was aided by the strong running of sophomore tailback Kevin Johnson, who rushed for 99 yards on 16 attempts.

“Kevin had a good year as a freshman and we knew he was only going to get better,” third-year Lancers’ coach Bill Unsworth said. “We planned on working him a lot because our offensive line was really pushing the defense back.”

After both sides traded possessions early in the first quarter, the Lancers put together a five-play, 57-yard drive that resulted in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Wilkerson to senior Nathan King with 2:43 left in the period.

The Lancers had driven to the Golden Bears 25-yard line.

But an Edinburgh holding penalty sent the ball back to the 35.

But on the next play, Wilkerson found King drifting into the left corner of the end zone, where he made an over-the-head catch with both hands.

Senior Caleb Giles converted the point after to give Edinburgh a 7—0 lead.

Monroe Central put together a nine-play drive, but a pass by quarterback Kisac Rhoades was intercepted by senior Ryan Burton.

However, the next time the Golden Bears got the ball, they drove 60 yards in 11 plays that resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Kaiser Phillips.

A two-point pass conversion gave Monroe Central an 8-7 edge as the two teams headed to halftime.

The Lancers wasted little time when the third quarter got under way.

Edinburgh scored the go-ahead touchdown on the first possession of the second half, when Wilkerson threw his second touchdown of the night, a 5-yarder to senior wide receiver Tyler Bailey.

Although the extra-point kick failed, the Lancers took a 13-8 lead with 6:26 left in the third quarter.

Monroe Central was forced to go to the air late in the game, which resulted in two more interceptions, one by King and another by Roy Schuder.

Kevin Johnson added an insurance touchdown on a 6-yard run at the conclusion of a five-play, 60-yard drive.

“Every year we keep adding a few new little wrinkles and get rid of others,” Unsworth said. “What works best for us is what we emphasize. The kids really appreciate the fans, and we’ve got great fans here and the kids feed off of them.”

Edinburgh (1-0) travels to North Decatur on Friday.

Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!