By Phil Murphy
Content Editor, DigitalSports.com
**Check the video player below the story to re-live Thursday’s thriller in 25 minutes.**
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Maybe No. 4 Edison Coach Vaughn Lewis should have stopped by a gas station for lottery tickets on his way home from No. 7 West Springfield on Thursday.
And not for his team’s fortunes on field — the Eagles played masterfully in their 35-34 road win over the Spartans — but for his own stroke of luck the night before the game.
Lewis just has a knack for picking numbers.
“I told my wife the day before yesterday, she said ‘What is it going to take to win?’ And I said about 35 points,” he said, whose wife confirmed the conversation. “Pretty lucky guess, wasn’t it? … I’m going to be honest, that’s probably the most exciting game I’ve ever been a part of.”
And that comes from a 20-year coaching veteran with two Northern Region championships and the 1986 Division 5 state title on his resume.
With 2 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter — and only one time-out — Edison drove from the West Springfield 47-yard line down to the 10 with just over a minute left.
Senior athlete Corey Washington — who already returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score and took a shovel pass 24 yards for another touchdown — caught a screen pass, shook a defender and had a clear path to the end zone, only to be betrayed by his own body, taking an unprovoked stumble short of the goal line.
“I kind of cramped up a little bit,” said Washington, who finished with 179 all-purpose yards. “I didn’t prepare for the game yesterday, I didn’t eat my bananas, my potassium, and I cramped up a little bit. I saw the end zone and was pretty mad afterward.”
Left with a 1st-and-goal from the Spartan 4 and no time-outs, junior quarterback Levi Barber handed off to junior running back Angus Harper on consecutive plays, the second which Harper took in for the go-ahead score with 50 seconds remaining.
“We had tried the series before that and we didn’t get it,” said Harper, who left the field on precautionary crutches due to an injured right knee. “So I was like, ‘I have to get it this time and we have to win this game’ because this was a big game. I just did what my coach told me to do, I followed my blocking and got into the end zone.”
But that score left West Springfield senior quarterback Bryn Renner enough time to drive from his own 32-yard line to the Edison 24 in six plays to leave 4 seconds showing on the game clock.
An illegal-procedure penalty pushed the Spartans out of field-goal range and Renner’s attempt at a Hail Mary was batted away by Eagle junior defensive back Jerrell Haywood, who was surrounded by two Spartan wide receivers.
“I know we have character and we have heart, but this was a physical battle, guys were getting drilled,” said West Springfield Coach Bill Renner, already without senior running back Brandon Bailey due to heat exhaustion sustained Wednesday. “We have lot of guys who took some big hits and kept playing. [Andy] Stallings got crushed three times; he didn’t quit. Bryn got crushed; he didn’t quit. We had to bring a new receiver in and he makes two or three big plays, [Eric] Schauder.
“It was a great game, we just want to get better and move forward… We play high-caliber teams early for that specific reason.”
Added Lewis: “I was worried we gave them too much time at the end there. That Renner is going to be special at [North] Carolina.”
It’s the Eagles, though, that have been special so far this season. “Special,” as in special teams.
Edison has scored two touchdowns each on kickoff returns and two on punt returns — four total — through two games. In addition to the elder Washington’s length-of-the-field kickoff return, Haywood returned a second-quarter punt 61 yards for a score on Thursday.
“Our special teams has been really good this year,” Lewis said. “We’ve got some athletes back there and we tell our front people, ‘If you can just hit them and hold them up, create a seam, we’re going to make things happen.’ Both Washingtons and Haywood just make things happen.
“They’re fun to watch.”
Added Corey Washington, humbly omitting himself from his list: “It feels good knowing that anyone can [make an impact]. We’ve got great blocking. And we’ve got Angus, Christian [Washington], we’ve got a couple other people: Donnell [Epps], Jerrell.
“We’ve just got athletes.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
1 2 3 4 — F
No. 4 Edison 7 7 14 7 — 35
No. 7 West Springfield 10 7 10 7 — 34
Scoring Plays —
1Q – WS – McConnell 27 FG
1Q – WS – Stallings 1 from Renner (McConnell kick)
1Q – ED – Co. Washington 100 kickoff return (Charfi kick)
2Q – ED – Haywood 61 punt return (Charfi kick)
2Q – WS – Tobin 17 from Renner (McConnell kick)
3Q – WS – McConnell 27 FG
3Q – ED – Harper 67 run (Charfi kick)
3Q – WS – Stallings 31 from Renner (McConnell kick)
3Q – ED – Co. Washington 24 from Barber (Charfi kick)
4Q – WS – Schauder 28 from Renner (McConnell kick)
4Q – ED – Harper 2 run (Charfi kick)
Team Leaders —
Passing
ED – Levi Barber – 7-for-17 passing, 126 yards, TD, INT (5-for-7 in second half). WS – Bryn Renner – 26-for-43 passing, 432 yards, 4 TD.
Rushing
ED – Angus Harper – 17 carries, 150 yards, 2 TD (100 yards, 2 TD in second half); Levi Barber – 14 carries, 77 yards. WS – Dan Collins – 21 carries, 70 yards; Bryn Renner – 12 carries, 23 yards.
Receiving
ED – Christian Washington – 2 receptions, 68 yards; Corey Washington – 5 receptions, 58 yards, TD. WS – Andy Stallings – 8 receptions, 131 yards, 2 TD; T.J. O’Connell – 10 receptions, 124 yards; Eric Shauder – 3 receptions, 78 yards, TD; Tucker Tobin – 3 receptions, 49 yards, TD.
Defense
ED – Josh Paige – 2 sacks, fumble recovery, pass deflection. WS – Malik Diaw – 4 tackles for loss, pass deflection, fumble recovery; Joey DeSantis – 2.5 sacks, fumble forced.
Kicking
ED – Mehdi Charfi – 5-5 XP. WS – John McConnell – 4-4 XP, 2-2 FG (27,27).
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