By Jeffery Gibert
West Potomac Senior/ DigitalSports Intern
**CLICK HERE for video highlights and interviews!
The No. 3 Edison Eagles slid past the Lee Lancers in a sloppy, 37-7 win in the quarterfinal round of the Northern Region Division 5 playoffs on Friday. With two key players — senior offensive lineman Frank Figueroa and junior running back Angus Harper — injured, it looked rough for the Eagles at times, but Edison still emerged with the big victory.
“We can’t come out flat,” said Edison senior running back Donnell Epps, who had a spectacular reception for 43 yards on a defensive pass interference and also had two carries for 23 yards and a touchdown. “I mean, we picked it up. But we can not come out flat.”
In an early Week 1 encounter, the Eagles breezed by the Lancers, 35-14. But this time, the Lancers showed they were meant to be in the playoffs on their third play from scrimmage. It was a 60-yard touchdown pass from Greg Lopez to Anthony Nsekela that gave the Lancers a quick, 7-0 lead just 1 minute, 28 seconds into the game.
Those, though, were the only points that Lee would muster.
Edison senior standout Stephon Robertson scored on a 64-yard run on the Eagles’ second play from scrimmage to knot the score at 7, and Edison never looked back.
Lee mounted another nice drive on its second possession, but a field goal attempt fell just short to end the threat. That was the last of any scoring hopes for the Lancers.
Edison’s defense shined with three interceptions, one each by seniors Matt Clasen and Corey Washington and junior Mark Krisak.
Things were less smooth for Eagles’ offense, as Figueroa’s absence on the offensive line showed Friday night. Without him, the Lancer defensive line got past the Eagle offensive line more than it had in the Week 1 showdown. Still, Edison had more than enough for the win.
“We just had to step it up,” Edison junior lineman Edwin Rogers said of Figueroa’s absence. “Fill in the spot. Work harder. [At] practice this week we really stepped it up. We had people after practice doing hills just making the difference, and I think that was big tonight.”
The in-game gelling of Friday night’s offensive line caused junior quarterback Levi Barber to struggle at times, but he did connect on a 44-yard touchdown pass to junior wide reciever Christian Washington, who dragged a Lancer defender into the end zone on his way to the score.
“I wasn’t going down,” Christian Washington said. “I was fighting for my yards. I had to score [and] get in the end zone … had to boost the team up.”
Robertson was also extraordinary on the ground, rushing for 154 yards on only six carries, an average of a whopping 25.7 yards per carry. Robertson also starred on the defensive side of the ball. He had many key tackles on third down situations and landed key big hits throughout the game.
“I never focus on the first hit on the defense when they try to hit me … I always keep my legs moving,” Robertson said of his running philosophy. “That’s pretty much the key. I always keep my legs moving.”
Edison’s special teams unit, usually stellar, flirted with disaster a few times Friday night but avoided any major gaffs. The Eagles snapped a PAT attempt too low, which turned into an unsuccessful two-point attempt. They had a Lancer punt inadvertantly hit an Eagle player who wasn’t looking to make it a live ball, but the Eagles pounced on it before the Lancers could. And the Eagles also snapped a punt snap over senior kicker Mehdi Charfi’s head and it rolled into the end zone for what looked to be a sure safety, but Charfi picked it up, eluded one defender and managed to get off a 34-yard punt.
“I was nervous when that snap went back there,” said Charfi, who also starts at center. “But [I] looked back, saw no one coming, made a quick juke, saw that I could get the punt off and got it off. I’m not letting no team get two points on our team just like that. They gotta work hard against our defense to do that, and our defense held them up after that … so it was good.”
Although the Lancers’ season came to an end, they fought hard throughout the whole game. Lopez, Sharam Obed and Jazmier Williams led the way for Lee. Lopez completed 9-of-16 passes for 216 yards and added nine carries for 37 yards, Williams totaled 18 carries for 63 yards rushing and Obed added 3 receptions for 89 yards.
The top-seeded Eagles advance to host fourth-seeded Madison this Friday in a rematch of last year’s second-round game, which the Eagles won. The winner will meet with winner of the other semifinal game between third-seeded Mount Vernon and second-seeded Stone Bridge in the Northern Region Division 5 championship game.
