Eastern Hancock quarterback Elijah Edon threw two touchdown passes and rushed for two more in Friday’s win over Frankton.
Mike Brown | For The Daily Reporter
FRANKTON — It wasn’t always pretty, but it got the job done.
And in week one of the IHSAA football season, and on the road, that’s all that matters.
Eastern Hancock opened up the season with a 36-15 win over Frankton at Frankton High School Friday night.
“Week 1 every year I’ve ever coached is like this,” Eastern Hancock head coach Pat Echeverria said. “You take what you can get, and we’re just glad that we’re 1-0.”
Something that Echeverria preached prior to the season was the Royals’ ability to attack in multiple ways offensively.
That was on full display throughout the Royals’ five touchdown night.
Three of the scores came on the ground, and the other two came through the air.
“It’s all about keeping teams off balance and taking what they give us,” Echeverria said. “Our coaches did a great job of communicating, and I was getting great information from the sideline and the box, and we made adjustments. And the kids responded really, really, well.”
Sophomore quarterback Elijah Edon contributed four of the touchdowns, with a pair of passing touchdowns and rushing touchdowns.
His first of the night came following a Frankton field goal for the first score of the game.
The Royals marched down the field and, early into the second quarter, Edon found wide receiver Eli Manship on a 25-yard pass in the corner of the end zone for the team’s first touchdown of the season and a 7-3 lead.
“He [Edon] made a check to the fade to Eli for the touchdown. That was all him,” Echeverria said. “He threw a great ball and his buddy made a great catch. He’s able to make those decisions now and if he’s making the plays, I’ll continue to give him more freedom.”
The Eagles responded with the next two scores, and 12 points in just 17 seconds.
Crew Farrell capped off the next Frankton drive with a 14-yard rushing touchdown and on the next play from scrimmage, the Eagles returned a Royals fumble 38 yards for a score.
Even in the lopsided win, that mistake was the first of many for the Royals.
Three bad snaps, two fumbles, three offside penalties and three false starts helped Frankton hang around through the first half.
“It’s the first time you really line up against another team, and it’s full contact to the ground the whole time,” Echeverria said. “It was good to see them battle back in the second half.”
Another scoring connection from Edon to Manship — this time from 38 yards — sent the Royals into half tied at 15. And following the break, they took full control.
The Royals held the Eagles scoreless in the second half behind a strong performance from the defensive line.
After recording just four total sacks as a team last year, the Royals had three in one game. They held the Frankton rushing attack to just 26 second-half yards, and forced quarterback Ethan Stansberry to complete just five of his 11 passes in the half.
“It’s been a big point of emphasis, and a sense of pride,” Echeverria said. “It’s a big challenge by our linemen that we were going to get after the quarterback a little bit more, It felt like more than three, but I’ll take three.”
After finding success through the air in the first half, the Royals three second-half touchdowns came on the ground.
Near the end of the third quarter, a 21-yard pass to Manship set up Edon for a 4-yard keeper, and in the fourth Edon broke off a 59-yard touchdown, and running back Mark Kube took a handoff 51 yards for another score.
Edon finished the night with 173 yards passing and two touchdowns. He added 60 yards and two scores on the ground.
Manship hauled in eight passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s his [Manship] week. I think with our guys, that’s what it’s going to be. The next team we play is gonna know where he’s at and that might open up some things for someone else,” Echeverria said. “He had a great game though, that’s for sure.”
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Eastern Hancock 36, Frankton 15
Eastern Hancock (1-0);0;15;7;14; — ;36
Frankton (0-1);3;12;0;0; — ;15
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
F – Colson Falink 26 FG, 2:54
2nd Quarter
EH – Eli Manship 25 pass from Elijah Edon (Dylan Bowman run), 10:52
F – Crew Farrell 14 run (kick failed), 8:19
F – Landon Johnson 38 fumble return (conversion failed), 8:02
EH – Manship 38 pass from Edon (Aaron Redmon kick), 3:03
3rd Quarter
EH – Edon 4 run (Redmon kick), 2:44
4th Quarter
EH – Mark Kube 51 run (Redmon kick), 9:40
EH – Edon 59 run (Redmon kick), 7:44
