MEDINA: For the better part of the season, the Chippewa football team has been the bully on the block.
On Friday, the sixth-seeded Chipps found out what it’s like to have their lunch money taken away from them in a 70-37 loss to top-seeded Milan Edison in a Division V, Region 16 final.
Chippewa (10-3) came in averaging 41.4 points per game. The Chargers (12-1) averaged 35.3.
The problem for the Chipps was Edison had nearly that by halftime.
By the time it was over, the Chargers accumulated 547 yards on the ground and 648 yards total offense.
A team that had given up 17 points or less six times, Chippewa watched Edison run up and down the field pretty much at will and the statistics proved it.
The first half foreshadowed things to come as Edison averaged 18.9 yards per play and were ahead 35-24 despite running just 19 plays.
If it wasn’t Sam Stoll (166 yards rushing, touchdown) getting them, Keegan Hall (144 yards rushing, four touchdowns, 101 yards passing, two touchdowns) and Dan Stoll (128 yards rushing, two touchdowns) got to the Chipps, as the Chargers did whatever they wanted in the first half.
After stalling on its first drive, Edison scored five consecutive touchdowns.
It got away from the Chipps with 5:09 remaining before halftime.
Behind 14-10, coach Mike Bohley decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 on the Edison 10. Bailey Breitenstine (16-of-24, 205 yards, two passing touchdowns, 135 yards rushing, three rushing touchdowns) threw incomplete to Ray Sales and the Chargers took over.
On the next play, Sam Stoll went 90 yards for a touchdown. On the play, it appeared he was down at about the 25-yard line, but an alert Stoll didn’t hear a whistle and kept moving forward.
Chippewa fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Jack Lykins recovered on the Chippewa 38 and Hall went in from 12 yards away.
That made it 28-10 and the Chipps never could catch up.
To make matters worse, Edison didn’t let off the gas after halftime, scoring 33 seconds after the third quarter whistle.
This time, it was Dan Stoll doing the damage on a 35-yard touchdown on a drive that took two plays to score. That made it 42-24.
Although the Chipps exit the playoffs, the senior class leaves with three consecutive playoff appearances. Included in that was the school’s first trip to a regional final.
Players like Breitenstine, Sales, Jerry Bennett and Doug Price graduate, but the foundation has been set for the future.