By DOUG DONNELLY

OTTAWA LAKE – Whiteford took over the top spot in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference with a 60-36 win over Edon, Ohio, Friday night, showing off its offensive firepower until the visiting Bombers threw in the towel.

Brek Ruddy and Rocco Pillarelli each rushed for more than 100 yards and two touchdowns, Drew Ruddy caught a 73-yard touchdown from Tre Eitniear and ran for two more scores and Andy Trejo added the final Bobcat TD.

The Bobcats trailed 7-0, 15-8 and 23-16 before scoring four straight touchdowns to take the lead.

The entire fourth quarter was played with a super running clock and involved non-starters, mostly JV players, at the request of Edon coach Bob Olwin, who met Bobcat coach Todd Thieken at midfield when Whiteford took a 60-29 lead late in the third quarter.

Edon scored in the fourth quarter to pull within 24 points. Whiteford drove to the Edon 1-yard line and let time expire without running another play.

“That was me throwing the white flag so we could get out of this game healthy,” said Olwin, who has coached high school football more than 30 years. “We competed for a while … He doesn’t need anybody hurt and I don’t need anybody hurt. We conceded.”

Thieken said he didn’t recall being in that situation before.

“I think it was a situation where he has a smaller roster and stuff like that,” Thieken said. “I think they realized once we got to the fourth quarter maybe he was worried about somebody getting hurt. The bottom line is that for two quarters they gave us a heck of a game. We were scrambling on the sidelines.”

In three previous meetings between Whiteford and Edon, the Bombers had won two of those games by scores of 52-32 and 50-20 last season. Of the 36 games Edon has won since the start of the 2021 season, 21 of them were by more points than the Bombers lost Friday. Ten of those 21 wins were by 40 or more points.

The game officially never reached the point in which the automatic running clock rule goes into effect.

Edson (5-2, 3-1) had 0 yards rushing but 403 yards passing for the game, including 358 by starting quarterback Briggs Galehue.

Whiteford is 5-1 and 4-0 in the TAAC with three league games remaining.

EDON 15 8 6 7 – 36

WHITEFORD 8 30 2 0 – 60

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

E – Gauge Nester 29 run (Joa Pedro de Souza Franca kick)

W – Drew Ruddy 73 pass from Tre Eitniear (Brek Ruddy run)

E – Nester 3 run (Lincoln Kess 3 pass from Briggs Galehue)

Second Quarter

W – Brek Ruddy 36 run (Gabe Speweik run)

E – Eli Dickman 31 pass from Galenhue (Dickman pass from Galehue)

W – Brek Ruddy 5 run (Brek Ruddy run)

W – Rocco Pillarelli 22 run (conversion failed)

W – Drew Ruddy 18 run (Brek Ruddy run)

Third Quarter

W – Pillarelli 17 run (Brek Ruddy run)

E – Kendol Brigle 71 pass from Galehue (pass failed)

W – Drew Ruddy 49 run (Speweik run)

W – Andy Trejo 1 run (pass failed)

Fourth Quarter

E – Brady Hand 11 pass from Jaron Grove (Gage Ciseros kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Edon: Gauge Nester 5-43, Jaron Grove 1-10, Cayden Thiel 1-2, Parker Moyer 1-(minus)-2, Briggs Galehue 7-(minus)-53. Totals 15-0. Whiteford: Brek Ruddy 8-153, Rocco Pillarelli 8-116, Drew Ruddy 3-93, Elijah Vance 5-62, Tre Eitniear 3-18, Gabe Speweik 1-17, Gavin Meinert 1-7, Andy Trejo 2-5, Beckett Emch 1-0. Totals 32-471.

PASSING – Edon: Briggs Galehue 28-49-0 358 yards, Jaron Grove 4-5-0 45 yards. Whiteford: Tre Eitniear 2-2-0 94 yards.

RECEIVING – Edon: Kendol Brigle 11-169, Eli Dickman 6-73, Gauge Nester 2-44, Kadin Stantz 5-42, Cayden Thiel 3-34, Lincoln Kess 3-26, Brady Hand 1-11, Gage Ciseros 1-4. Whiteford: Drew Ruddy 1-73, Andy Trejo 1-21.