Edgren's Ethan Wong gets a couple of fists full of Perry quarterback Jordan Burford's jersey. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – After going 3-19 the last three seasons, Robert D. Edgren’s football team, spurred by a strong rushing attack, finds itself in the thick of the Far East Division II playoff chase.
P.J. Lorenzo, Terrance Dove and Parker Kuns each scored on second-half big plays and the Eagles as a team rushed for 266 yards on 42 carries and soared to a 20-0 shutout victory Friday over Matthew C. Perry at Samurai Field.
“Playmakers make plays, and we had a lot of plays and notable playmakers,” Eagles first-year head coach Brian Johnson said.
With the victory, the Eagles improved to 2-1 on the D-II season, winning their last two games in a row, and climbed to within a half-game of 2-0 Yokota for the top spot in the D-II standings.
After a scoreless first half, Kuns, a lanky versatile senior, took a reverse 24 yards for a touchdown that broke the deadlock and put the Eagles ahead to stay with 3:50 left in the third quarter.
The 6-0 lead held up until the closing minutes. Dove, on his only carry of the game, dashed through the line untouched 33 yards for a score with 3:39 remaining.
“The credit goes to the line,” Dove said. “Our line did a good job of blocking and they gave me the opportunity to score.”
Kuns intercepted a pass on the Samurai’s next possession, setting up the Eagles’ final touchdown, a 40-yard trap play to Lorenzo, who went around left end untouched into the end zone.
Lorenzo rushed 19 times for 152 yards and had 164 yards total offense. Kuns had 83 yards total offense, rushing, passing and receiving, and also recovered a fumble for Edgren.
Edgren running back P.J. Lorenzo, with 152 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, kept Perry defenders such as Travis Walker on the run all night. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Matthew C. Perry's Kameron Ramos tries to elude Edgren tackler Cole Donnelly. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Edgren defender Ethan Mercado tries to strip the ball from Perry quarterback Jordan Burford. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Perry defenders Braylon Stephens and Travis Walker try to wrap up Edgren quarterback Haruki Jones. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Perry running back Kameron Ramos tries to outrun Edgren defensive end Cole Donnelly. (Alaysia Clavijo/Special to Stripes)
One of the veterans of the last two seasons, senior end Cole Donnelly, said he and his teammates have much to be proud of for the turnaround in Edgren’s football fortunes.
“It’s so amazing to see the culture grow,” Donnelly said. “We’ve been getting consistently better.”
Things got off on the wrong foot for the Samurai (0-2) even before kickoff, when senior end Xander Grantham injured his left knee during warmups. Kicking team specialist Preston Ramirez went down in the early minutes with an injury and did not return.
“We tried to make adjustments on the fly and we couldn’t do it,” Samurai coach Daniel Burns said. “Give Edgren credit. They played well. They controlled the line of scrimmage.”
Quarterback Jordan Burford paced the Samurai with 54 yards on 15 carries and was 5-for-14 for 54 yards passing. Perry also recovered two Edgren fumbles. Kameron Ramos had 173 all-purpose yards on 26 touches for Perry.
Edgren gets next week off, then hosts Yokota at 6 p.m. Sept. 27, for what could be a crucial battle for playoff position. The Samurai next host Sotoku, a Japanese high school, next Saturday afternoon.
