TOUCHDOWN BOMBERS … Gauge Nester heads to pay dirt after catching a pass from Edon quarterback Briggs Gallehue.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
UNDER PRESSURE … Edon quarterback Briggs Gallehue keeps his eyes down field while scrambling.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
EDON (August 30, 2025) – The combination of Briggs Gallehue and Gauge Nester was something that Edon head coach Bob Olwin had finally wanted to see Saturday night in the Bombers’ 31-19 non-conference victory over Antwerp at Leanne Field.
A year ago, Gallehue and Nester had both played in the shadows of a pair of All-Ohioans in Kyler Sapp and Cohen Hulbert, and playing before a Senior Night crowd, the duo was firing on all cylinders.
“Both of them (Gallahue and Nester) are seniors and have played a lot of football for us,” said Olwin.
“I just told them that we expect everybody we put out there to play to the high level that we want to play to. Briggs (Gallehue) is getting better every week, and Gage (Nester) is getting his opportunity to play because he was behind Cohen (Hulbert) for three years and is making the most of it. They’re great kids and deserve what they’re getting.”
After forcing Antwerp to punt on its initial series, Gallehue led an 8-play, 61-yard drive on the Bombers’ first offensive series.
On third-and-ten at the Antwerp 20, Gallehue was nearly sacked by Antwerp defensive lineman Keegan Gray-Wyckoff but was able to get the ball off to Nester for a 20-yard touchdown at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter.
The Archers would tie the game at 7-7 with quarterback Hampton Rogge found wide receiver Kane Hines on a 51-yard scoring play.
Edon would go on a lengthy 13-play, 67-yard drive that lasted nearly five minutes resulting in Gallehue who went untouched into the end zone from three yards out and a 13-7 lead in the second quarter.
The Bombers would get a huge defensive stop after coming up three yards short on a fourth down pass play and took over at the Archers’ 41-yard line.
On the next play, Gallehue had lateraled the ball to wide receiver Kadin Stantz who then connected with Nester for 35 yards to the Antwerp 16, before Hines would intercept Gallehue’s pass in the end zone for a touchback.
Two series later, Edon’s Eli Dickmann had broken up Rogge’s pass that was intended for Hines in the end zone and the Bombers would take advantage of it.
Following a 26-yard pass completion to Nester and then a holding penalty against Edon pushing the ball back to the Edon 25, Gallahue would connect with Dickmann on a 75-yard catch and run scoring pass being wide open after catching it past midfield and a 19-7 halftime lead.
The Gallehue-Nester passing combo clicked again to begin the second half, this time covering 51 yards for the touchdown and a 25-7 cushion with 11:05 left in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Archers went with 6-6, 276-pound junior lineman Keegan Gray-Wyckoff who was lined up in the offensive backfield and he would run his way through the Bombers’ defense on an 11-yard scoring run as Antwerp trailed 25-13.
Edon answered right back following a 28-yard kickoff return by Lincoln Kiess to the Antwerp 45-yard line.
A pair of running plays by Gallehue covering 3 and 25 yards followed and it would set up a 17-yard touchdown run by Nester, a minute later following the Archers’ second touchdown.
Overcoming a tough season opening night in a 41-14 loss to Edgerton the week before, the 6-4, 222-pound senior quarterback redeemed himself with a solid performance completing 19 of 34 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns.
“I thought everybody did a good job watching film and just coming out and ready to play this time,” commented Gallehue.
“I could have done better, but I had some missed throws and could run some holes better. Overall, I thought we did pretty good as a team.”
Nester also put together an impressive performance hauling in five passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns and added 33 yards on just two carries on the ground. Kendall Brigle had seven catches for 78 yards for the Bombers.
Rogge who completed 24 of 40 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions for Antwerp connected with Brayden Fuller from nine yards out to round out the scoring.
Hines was the Archers’ leading receiver with 13 catches for 183 yards and a touchdown. Edon outgained Antwerp, 418-343, in total offense.
Both teams were penalized heavily as Edon was flagged 12 times for 127 yards and Antwerp has 12 flags for 97 yards.
“We are nowhere near where we want it to be,” admitted Olwin about his team’s performance. “There were just too many mistakes to be satisfied with either side.
“We’ve got a long way to go, but we showed signs of moving into the right direction and I’m proud of them for that. We got some tough games coming up later in the year and we got to be ready for those.”
Both teams will have final non-conference tune-ups as Edon (1-1) visits Hicksville (0-2) on Friday and Antwerp (0-2) invades Hilltop (0-2) on Saturday.
AHS 7 0 0 12 – 19
EHS 7 12 6 6 – 31
E – Nester 70-yd pass from Gallehue (Bollmeyer kick)
A – Hines 51-yd pass from Rogge (Clevinger kick)
E – Gallehue 3-yd run (kick blocked)
E – Dickmann 75-yd pass from Gallehue (pass failed)
E – Nester 51-yd pass from Gallehue (pass failed)
A – Gray-Wyckoff 11-yd run (run failed)
E – Nester 17-yd run (kick failed)
A – Fuller 9-yd pass from Rogge (run failed)