Playoffs come early as Edon visits St. Paul

NORWALK — November is coming early to Contractors Stadium. South Central was forced to cancel the Firelands Conference opener against St. Paul because of COVID-related issues. Instead, the Flyers will match up with a recent foe in what on paper has the feel of a playoff matchup that one would expect to see deep into November. St. Paul (3-0) will now host Edon (3-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Warren C. Whitney Complex. The game is a rematch of a 35-21 win by the Flyers in the first round of the Division VII state playoffs in 2019. The Flyers are no stranger to playing deep into the playoffs. And while Edon's playoff resume isn't near as lengthy (five appearances), the Bombers returned 17 starters from a 6-4 team in 2020. Edon features an offense averaging 50 points per game that is led by a 6-foot-4, 220-pound quarterback who is an All-Ohio performer in both football and basketball. Senior QB Drew Gallehue averaged 37 pass attempts per game in 2020. He threw for 2,900 yards and 38 touchdowns as the Bombers finished 6-4 and averaged 37.7 points per game. All he's done this season is complete 73-of-107 pass attempts for 1,233 yards with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions. That includes last week's effort in a 60-6 win at Hicksville, when Gallehue was 25-of-35 passing for 462 yards and 7 TDs. "He's exactly as he is described," St. Paul head coach John Livengood said. "He's big, fast, and just a great athlete with a great arm. He can sling it, and he's got a lot of good targets. "Their coach (Bob Olwin) has had a lot of success running the spread. He's going to spread you out and throw the ball around, and he's got the tools to use it." Gallehue's top targets include 6-1, 199-pound senior receiver Gannon Ripke (honorable mention All-Ohio), who came in from nearby Edgerton after his father, Mike, became the Edon athletic director who helped negotiate Saturday's game into reality. Senior twins Hayden (5-11, 192) and Henley (6-0, 200) Dye combined for 80 catches, 964 yards and 11 TDs last season. Junior Caden Nester (6-2, 183) had 57 catches, 707 yards and 11 TDs and senior Ethan Steinke (5-11, 168) had 30 catches, 477 yards and 3 TDs last season. "Their skilled kids are pretty talented," Livengood said. "Ripke is a kid that jumps off the screen. You see the ball in his hands and it gets your attention in a hurry. Probably two-thirds or three-fourths of the time they are in an empty backfield set." Defensive tackle Cassius Holbert (6-3, 296) returns after 71 tackles and three sacks in 2020, while the other tackle in the 4-3 front, Jaden Craven (5-11, 237), is also a top returning player for the Bombers. Edon's roster features 33 players, including seven senior starters and 13 letterwinners. "They are pretty aggressive defensively because it's a lot of those same skilled kids," Livengood said. "They can lock on tight in man coverage and have the type of kids who can do that, but also they are 195 pounds and can line up as linebackers. "Their safety is Gallehue, so that's a pretty big safety back there," he added. "They have really good size up front, but it's their athletic ability in general that stands out." St. Paul enters the game averaging 33.3 points and 392 yards per game. Will Stieber has 422 yards and 5 TDs on 63 rush attempts and Quincey Crabbs adds 239 yard sand 3 TDs on 43 attempts. Quarterback Eli Fisher is 17-of-26 for 242 yards with 3 TDs and one interception, with Kaden Maxwell as his top target with nine catches for 142 yards and a TD. The Flyers allow 12.3 points per game on defense, as Stieber, who started and had 10 tackles in the 2019 playoff win over Edon, has 30 tackles, a fumble recovery and three pass breakups. Crabbs adds 29 tackles and four pass breakups, while AJ Meyer has 22 tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries. Kicker Tyler Perkins is 13-of-14 on extra points and 1-of-2 on field goals while also punting five times for a 44.4-yard average. Given the Flyers had already practiced in preparation for the Trojans this week, Livengood said he was pleased with how his kids reacted to the news of switching opponents. "We installed our game plan for South Central Monday, and they're thinking that as school ends on the way to practice — and they show up and get told they are playing Edon instead," he said. "You could see there was a little bit of shock, but we talked about how we respond to this situation will be very important. "I was very pleased because we were doing things on the run with 20 minutes to prepare on film for our practice (on Tuesday)," Livengood added. "Our kids did a good job of understanding and picking things up with very little prep in a short amount of time. Practice had a good energy to it, and we expect that to continue throughout the week."