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Nov 09, 2024

St. Edward vs. Toledo Whitmer football: Eagles clamp down on defense to advance in Division I playoffs - cleveland.com

TOLEDO — Three-time defending state champion St. Edward appears to have found its groove. The Eagles went on the road and their stout defense stepped up big against Toledo Whitmer in a Division I

TOLEDO — Three-time defending state champion St. Edward appears to have found its groove. The Eagles went on the road and their stout defense stepped up big against Toledo Whitmer in a Division I regional quarterfinal at Whitmer Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

The No. 15-seeded Eagles (7-5) never trailed, expanding a 14-7 lead at halftime into a 24-7 hard-fought win against the No. 8 Panthers (9-3). St. Edward advances to play No. 13 Perrysburg (10-2), which defeated Berea-Midpark 25-14 on Friday, in the regional semifinals at a neutral site next week.

St. Edward held Whitmer to 150 total yards, including just eight on the ground, and forced one turnover. The Eagles finished with 220 total yards with 141 on the ground.

Quarterback Thomas Csanyi, who holds the school record for passing TDs (24), threw for 79 yards and rushed for 41 yards. Running back Bradley Eaton scored on runs of 15 and 5 yards, finishing with 35 total. Tyrese Buchanan led the Eagles with 46 rushing yards and Csanyi had 41.

“That’s a really good Whitmer team,” St. Edward coach Tom Lombardo said. “Our record doesn’t matter anymore. But all those things in the regular season prepare you for these games. We executed great in the second half. A bad snap on their part helped us and got us two scores up. And then the defense took it over from there, and we finished.”

The Eagles endured a challenging regular season schedule, facing multiple defending state champions like themselves. The Eagles had not had a road playoff game — not counting neutral sites — since 2018.

“We couldn’t consistently move the chains,” Whitmer coach Ken Winters said. “I mean that’s a tough team. I don’t care about the record. Everybody knows they’re one of the toughest teams in the state, and I’m super proud of our kids, and we just didn’t make the plays.”

The key moment for the Eagles came after a high snap over the head of Whitmer punter Rayan Farhan set St. Ed‘s up at the Panthers’ 8. The Whitmer defense held and the Eagles settled for a 23-yard field goal by Kellen Moyer as they took a 17-7 lead with 6:59 left in the third.

But the Eagles' defensive line, complemented by several well-timed blitzes, stifled the Panthers.

“We made some adjustments in the second half,” Lombardo said. “We knew we had some good blitz patterns that we thought could get there. We executed great in the second half.”

Csanyi then found a connection with Joe Saffold on late passes of 3, 18 and 15 yards on a fourth down play. St. Ed’s went up 24-7 on a 5-yard run by Eaton with 6:22 left in regulation.

“It’s all because of the practices we have and the trust within our teammates,” Csanyi said. “Everyone stepped up and did what they had to. We were just opening things up, learning and reading their defense. And as the second half came, we did our thing and we showed out.”

Whitmer came up with a big play as Camar Burton recovered a fumble by Csanyi in the third. But Whitmer could not capitalize as it went three-and-out.

St. Edward then got a turnover on downs on a sack by Nate Gregory to end a comeback attempt by the Panthers. Eaton and Gregory each had eight tackles.

“It comes down to a few moments,” Winters said. “It always does in these games. You’ve got to make those plays in a game against a team like St. Eds. You have to be almost perfect. And tonight, we weren’t.”

Whitmer senior quarterback Brady Ford, who will play at Eastern Illinois, finished with 142 yards passing in his final high school appearance.

St. Ed‘s Luke Hess had a long punt return to midfield to set up the Eagles’ first score. St. Eds marched 53 yards on nine plays to take a 7-0 lead as Gregory scored on a 1-yard plunge. The drive took 4:01 and included two 11-yard runs by Csanyi.

The teams then exchanged interceptions. St. Ed’s Makhi Boone ended a promising Whitmer drive.

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The Eagles struck quickly to re-take the lead. Eaton scored on a 15-yard run as they took a 14-7 lead with 6:39 left in the first half. Passes of 14 and 21 yards from Csanyi to Luke Hess were keys during the drive.

St. Edward is now 6-0 all-time against Whitmer. The last time the programs met was in 2010 in the state semifinals in Massillon as St. Edward won 23-13.

“We have the hardest schedule in Ohio, by far, so that builds us up,” Csanyi said. “Iron sharpens iron. So we learned from that and we’re using that in the playoffs.”

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