Edwardsburg pounds way past Niles

EDWARDSBURG — Edwardsburg football coach Kevin Bartz had a wish list of things he wanted to see from his team Friday night versus Niles.

The longtime Eddies mentor was not left wishing for much more from his squad after an impressive 45-7 win.

Senior quarterback Brendan Madison and classmate Andrew Colvin helped the Eddies rush past the Vikings in Wolverine Conference action at Leo Hoffman Field.

The Eddies did not disappoint the usual large throng of loud faithful in their home opener. A physical Edwardsburg unit pounded its way to 369 yards rushing as 10 different players toted the pigskin in the convincing win.

Madison scored a pair of touchdowns and Colvin ran for 119 yards on just 10 carries to lead the way.

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The Edwardsburg defense got into the act too by coming up with a key interception to stop a 20-play Niles drive in the second quarter that chewed more than 12 minutes off the clock.

The Eddies forced three turnovers in the game and also blocked a punt for a touchdown to open the contest.

Edwardsburg moves to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in league play. The youthful Vikings fall to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in conference action.

Bartz, who won his 207th game Friday night, saw plenty to like from his team that closed the night with a 17-point fourth quarter effort.

"This is kind of what we were looking for tonight," said Bartz, whose team beat Niles 61-7 last season. "Our offensive line did a nice job controlling things. We adjusted some things in the second half against their defensive line.

"Overall, we did a nice job defensively. The turnovers were a key to tonight for us. We took control after those. I like our response after the turnovers. Our offense did a nice job converting them into points."

The Eddies led 14-0 midway through the opening period. Brenden Seabolt blocked a Niles punt after a high snap and scooped up the ball for a touchdown to start the evening. Colton Strawderman then scored on a nifty 32-yard run for the Eddies.

Niles, which beat Buchanan 28-18 last week, then started a drive at its own eight-yard line. The Vikings chewed 12:28 off the clock before Colvin intercepted a pass at the Eddies seven yard line to end the 20-play march. The Eddies then went 93 yards as Madison scored on a sweet 17-yard keeper with just 25.2 seconds to play to make it 20-0 at halftime.

"The best thing about that drive was that we kept their offense off the field," noted Niles coach Scot Shaw. "But for as young as we are on our offensive line, that drive was a great confidence builder for us."

The Eddies made it 28-0 on the first drive of the final half. Mikey Pryor busted free for a 57-yard touchdown jaunt for the hosts.

Niles avoided the shutout on the next possession as speedster Julian Means-Flewellen raced 54 yards for a score.

The Eddies capped the game with 17 points in the final period as Bartz played a ton of guys. A total of 10 different players had rushing attempts for the Eddies.

Shaw, in his second season at Niles, knows his team needs to clean up the mistakes.

"At some point we have to turn it around," said Shaw pointing to the turnovers and the penalties. "It's not like we're not trying to fix those things. We just have to take more pride in hanging on to the ball.

"They are tough to stop. Not many people do."

Means-Flewellen led the Vikings with nine carries for 97 yards.

Edwardsburg plays at Vicksburg and Niles travels to Three Rivers next Friday night.

E: Brenden Seabolt recovers blocked punt (Mikey Pryor run)

E: Colton Strawderman 32 run (run failed)

E: Brendan Madison 17 run (run failed)

E: Mikey Pryor 57 run (Madison run)

N: Julian Means-Flewellen 54 run (Carlos Habenicht kick)

E: Madison 7 run (pass failed)

E: Seabolt 1 run (Parker Hankins run)

E: Carter Houseworth 23 field goal

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Michigan high school football: Niles at Edwardsburg, MHSAA scores