(September 27th, 2014)-CONSTANTINE, MI: “Trust me, that’s a good football team. We knew coming in we were going to have some issues.”
Those were the words of Shawn Griffin, head coach of the Constantine Football Team. Those issues he spoke of gave his team some serious trouble in the first half where Edon enjoyed a 36-34 lead against the Falcons. Some major halftime adjustments turned things around, however, and Constantine exploded for a 45 point second half, holding Edon scoreless in that same period of time. The Bombers ended up losing the game 79-36.
Of note, all of Constantine’s 549 yards came on the ground, as the team did not attempt one pass in the entirety of the game. That rushing attack also produced 11 touchdowns, all of which went for 30 or more yards.
Edon, by contrast, did most of their work through the air. Senior quarterback Kaden Sapp went 30-48 passing for 393 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 2 touchdowns.
Preston Klinger led the Bombers with 128 receiving yards and a touchdown from 6 receptions. Landon Bloir also had a touchdown catch on the night.
When the Bombers did run, they went to Cameron Castillo. The senior running back rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Some alterations to the Constantine defensive front gave Edon fits in the second half. The Bombers also got away with three onside kicks in the first half, limiting the possessions available to the Falcons. Some adjustments on special teams prevented this from recurring in the second half.
Of course, losing the turnover battle 4-0 will always lessen a team’s chance at winning,
But it was Edon’s inability to stop the run, particularly once an opponent gets past the defensive line, that kept the Bombers out of this game. Granted, Constantine is a very powerful rushing team.
Coach Griffin was right, though. Despite one glaring weakness, Edon is a good football team, and they have the ability to overcome said weakness against the rest of their schedule.
The best thing the Bombers can do at this point is put the Constantine game out of their minds and focus on this week’s game at Gibsonburg.