Truckers can't quite pull out a back-and-forth one-point loss to Edison in the backyard rivalry Friday night, falling 37-36 a year after posting a 13-12 win. At right, Ryan Wagner returns a kickoff 89 yards.

 

NORWALK- Jim Hall was waiting for an answer from anyone on his coaching staff.

When it came, the veteran Edison football coach took the advice and decided to go for broke.

“When it came to make a decision after we tied it up, I wanted someone to help me out and finally someone said ‘go for it”, and we did,’ Hall said after the Chargers pulled out a dramatic 37-36 win over Norwalk Friday at Warren Whitney Field in a thrilling opening game.

The Chargers now lead the series 16-9 in the 25 meetings and it is the fifth time this decade it's been a wild and tight finish. In 2001, Norwalk rallied from a 21-7 deficit in the final five minutes to force overtime before the Chargers prevailed 27-21. In 2002, Edison got a third quarter touchdown and stopped the Truckers at the 12-yard line in the fourth quarter of a 7-0 win.

In 2004, Norwalk's Corey Olaniyan caught a 26-yard touchdown pass with one hand while bobbling the ball with 12 seconds left in a 28-24 Trucker win while last year's game saw Norwalk score twice in the final five minutes to erase a 12-0 deficit and score a 13-12 win.

It was a see-saw battle throughout Friday night with one team taking the lead, and the other playing catchup.

That went on until Edison scored back-to-back touchdowns for a 29-21 with 1:59 remaining in the third quarter.

However, Norwalk’s Ryan Wagner returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards to for a score and Tyson Ringle’s two-point conversion pass to Justin Rehark with 1:46 on the clock knotted the score at 29-29.

Norwalk regained the lead at 36-29 when Wagner capped a drive with 3:30 remaining in regulation, then kicked the PAT.

However, Edison was not to be denied. Sophomore Brady Gelvin slashed his way into the end zone from five yards out with just 58 seconds to play to narrow the deficit to 36-35.

And that is when Hall heard what he was hoping for, and that was to go for the win.

Quarterback Zach Yovanov rolled to his left, pitched the ball back to Gelvin and the latter used his speed to get into the end zone for the two points, and the 37-36 victory.

"Both teams had their shots," Norwalk head coach Jeff Cole said. "Unfortunately, we came up a point short."

“Our defense played with strong character in the fourth quarter and I’m very proud of the way the kids fought back,” Hall said.

The two teams combined to pile up 649 yards in total offense. Edison rushed for 299 and was one of eight passing for an additional 22 yards. Norwalk gained 216 yards on the ground and was 8-of-14 passing for 112 yards.

Norwalk struck first when Andrew Enderle popped in from the one at the 6:53 mark of the opening period. Dylan Howard had Edison on the board 58 seconds later with a 37-yard scoring jaunt and Jon Suhanic’s kick made it 7-6.

Norwalk came back with a 15-play drive to go ahead as Dakota Sims bulled in from the one. Enderle ran for the PAT and it was 14-7. Yovanov capped a 70-yard Edison drive with a six-yard run and Suhanic knotted the count at 14-14 with his kick.

Sims put the Truckers back in front with 1:52 left in the half as Sims raced 20 yards and Wagner booted the PAT.

Edison opened the second half by going 64 yards in 12 plays following the kickoff and Yovanov scored from one yard out, and Suhanic’s kick tied the game once again, this time at 21-21.

Edison regained the lead when sophomore linebacker Brandon Thompson scooped up a Norwalk fumble and ran 32 yards for a 27-21 lead, and Yovanov’s pas to Chris Roberts hiked the advantage to 29-21.

Then came Wagner’s return and the pass to Rehark to knot the count at 29-29.

For Norwalk, Enderle ran the ball 17 times for 78 yards and a touchdown while completing 4-of-7 passes for 63 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a minor knee injury. Sophomore Tyson Ringle finished 6-of-8 passing for 56 yards in his varsity debut while Wagner caught five passes for 71 yards.

Dakota Sims ran 11 times for 46 yards and the two touchdhowns while Ringle added 41 yards on six attempts. Defensively, Wagner led the way with 10 tackles while Jared Torrence and Tony Williamson each added seven tackles with Torrence and Mason Krebs each picking up a sack.

Howard was Edison’s leading runner with 163 yards on 23 carries.

Edison              7          7          15        8          —  37

Norwalk           6          15        8          7          —  36

Norwalk  Andrew Enderle, 1 run. (kick failed).

Edison — Dylan Howard, 37 run. (Jon Suhanic, kick).

Norwalk — Dakota Sims, 1 run. (Enderle, run).

Edison — Zach Yovanov, 6 run. (Suhanic, kick).

Norwalk — Sims, 20 run. (Ryan wagner, kick).

Edison — Yovanov, 1 run. (Suhanic, kick).

Edison — Brandon Thompson, 32 fumble recovery return. (Chris Roberts, pass from Yovanov).

Norwalk — Wagner, 89 kickoff return. (Justin Rehark, pass from Tyson Ringle).

Norwalk— Wagner, 5 run. (Wagner, kick).

Edison — Brady Gelvin, 5 run. (Gelvin, run).