Lancers rout Tindley 49-12

EDINBURGH — Some teams run the ball better than others, while other teams pass the ball more efficiently.

But on this night, Edinburgh struck the right balance to post a convincing 49-12 win Friday night against visiting Tindley Academy.

With the win, the Lancers improved to 3-2. The Tigers fell to 1-4.

Although the Tigers struck first with a 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jabari Artis to wide receiver De’Andre Johnson on their second play from scrimmage, it didn’t take the Lancers long to strike back.

The response came in the form of senior quarterback Sammy Wilkerson, Johnson County’s top passer through five games. In the first half, he completed 6 of 7 passes for 111 yards and four touchdowns.

The Lancers scored on their first six possessions, starting with a 15-yard pass to Dakota Dayton to cap a 10-play, 59-yard drive. Caleb Giles’ extra-point kick was good as Edinburgh took a 7-6 lead.

Unable to move the ball on their next possession, the Tigers turned the ball over after Trent Tatlock blocked a punt, giving the Lancers good field possession at Tindley’s 12-yard line.

And on the first play, Wilkerson hooked up with Kevin Johnson for the Lancers’ second touchdown.

Before the half ended, Wilkerson accounted for two more scores with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Giles and a 20-yard strike to Tyler Bailey.

Johnson tacked on a 3-yard run for a touchdown, and Price ran one in with 4:39 left in the half, pushing Edinburgh’s lead to 42-6 at the half.

With the game well in hand, Lancers third-year coach Bill Unsworth took out most of his starters on offense.

“We saw a few things on their first possession, and we thought we could later exploit, and by golly, we did,” Unsworth said.”We’re five games into the season, so we’re learning the team better of what our guys can do and what role we might put them in.

“Right now, we have a lot of things we can do, but we’re not really adding a whole lot (offensive plays)”

Bailey made it 49-6 with 5:30 left in the third quarter on a 6-yard run.

Tindley, with 3:13 left, got a 12-yard touchdown run from Jalen Leakes.

In all, Edinburgh amassed 308 yards of total offense.

The Lancers had 183 yards rushing on 28 carries, led by Tyler Bailey’s 61 yards.

Wilkerson finished with 32 yards rushing on four carries.

Tindley, meanwhile, had 224 yards of offense.

Artis was 9 of 21 for 135 yards, 1 touchdown and two interceptions.

Edinburgh (3-2) is at Lutheran next Friday.

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