Lancers worn down in loss to Twisters

For the Daily Journal

The Edinburgh football team fell to Oldenburg Academy 26-6 on Friday during its homecoming game.

“We had a lot of mental mistakes early on,” Edinburgh head coach Jason Burton, said. “Physically, they wore us out.”

The Lancers (0-3) lost the ball after four quick downs. A tackle by Edinburgh’s Austin Streeval forced the Twisters into a fourth and long, but Lucas McFee passed 18 yards to Matthew Sedler to continue what turned into a scoring drive and a 6-0 lead.

When the Lancers got the ball back, Streeval ran 13 yards for first down, but Oldenburg’s Eli Sporleder intercepted an Edinburgh pass to end the first quarter.

With the Twisters in possession of the ball coming into the second quarter, the Lancers came up with a big interception and a 21-yard run by Josh Roberts.

An offsides call on the Twisters set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tyson Sackman to Dakota Balthazor, tying the game at 6-all.

Edinburgh’s Zach Murphy then intercepted the ball, but it was soon intercepted back by the Twisters.

The Twisters scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion with less than a minute left in the half, leaving the score at 14-6.

Coming out of the half, the Lancers’ defense was strong at first with tackles by Ethan Armel and Jordan Myers resulting in a fourth down. But the Twisters ran the ball on fourth and scored a touchdown, followed by a failed two-point conversion.

The Lancers kicked off their first drive of the second half by recovering their own fumble, only for the ball to be intercepted on the next play.

In the fourth quarter, the Lancers prepared for a punt, but the snap was too high, causing a fumble. It got out of the end zone but allowed Oldenburg to take possession of the ball with first and goal. The Twisters cashed in for their final touchdown.

With less than five minutes left to play, Sackman threw to Murphy for 22 yards and a first down, followed by another 14-yard run from Murphy. An interception in the end zone by Tony Kline, though, put the Twisters back in possession.

“We got outplayed mentally and let them get in our head,” Edinburgh senior Dillon Simpson said.

“Defensively, we did well, but we need to put more work into offense.”

The Lancers play at Switzerland County next Friday.