Stymied: John Glenn's rugged defense dominated turnover-prone Cambridge

CAMBRIDGE — McFarland Stadium was the host of Friday Night's struggle that included an hour-long lightning delay and John Glenn feasting on host Cambridge from the jump.

Lincoln Gilcher’s steady play in the backfield gave the Muskies much-needed poise, as his 73 yards on the ground and three touchdowns were key factors in a 49-7 rout in nonleague action.

“When I looked at our stats, I couldn’t believe we didn’t have that many yards compared to the score,” Muskies coach Matt Edwards said of the team's modest 241 total yards, which in most cases wouldn't align with such a high point total.

In this case, it was all about field position. The Muskies (2-0) never yielded a single possession in their own territory while their defense forced seven turnovers.

For the first possessions of the game it took both teams some time to get footing after another brutal day of unseasonably hot weather. Both teams were coughing up the ball to one another with fumbles.

Gilcher got the first score of the night with a 5-yard scoring run at the 6:40 mark in the first quarter to make it 7-0 Muskies. Cambridge (0-2) got it back on their next drive, as a holding call on John Glenn led to Damien Shaw getting behind the Muskies defense for a 54-yard pass play from A.J. Lawrence.

Then lightning struck, forcing a delay of almost 90 minutes. Once play resumed, Lawrence found the end zone from 4 yards out at 10:51 in the second, tying the game at 7.

Then Reese Metzger became a game changer, an X-factor that couldn’t be stopped.

Metzger coughed up a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, only to reverse field and race 81 yards to paydirt on he ensuring kickoff. It gave the Muskies a 14-7 lead. He added another score, this on an 11-yard run, to extend the lead to 21-7 with a at 8:39 still showing before the half.

By the time Gilcher found the end zone at 4:08 left until halftime, the wheels of a John Glenn rout were in motion up 28-7.

Edwards has seen more grift and grit that recent Muskies teams haven’t had, something he said starts with more able bodies. The team has been ravaged by injuries to key players in each of the past three seasons.

“We have guys that are only playing one way this year," Edwards said. "With the kind of depth we have we’re able to have that. Especially when we’ve had to practice in the heat we have had.”

Much of that grit came from Kristopher Wise, who had a spectacular game giving the Cambridge offense all it wanted and more. His team-leading five tackles and one interception set the tone in the secondary, while defensive back Kole Robinson, a Ridgewood transfer, had two picks of his own in the second half.

Quarterback Owen Edwards hit Jake Johnson and Cannon Fox for aerial strikes of 4 and 28 yards, respectively, to ensure a running clock in the fourth quarter.

The lack of field possession engulfed the Bobcats throughout. The vise-grip of the John Glenn defensive front stalemated a young Cambridge offensive line that averaged 3.9 yards per carry on the ground. They also helped force four fumbles, all of which Muskie defenders recovered.

John Glenn now faces a true measuring test in Week 3 with a Gnadenhutten Indian Valley team that many believe to be the class of Division IV, Region 15. The Braves have outscored Akron Ellett and Meadowbrook by a combined 113-29 during a 2-0 start.

They are not strangers, as the Braves have twice ousted the Muskies from the Division IV playoffs. The last came, 21-7, in 2020.

“I think it’s a really good test for us,” coach Edwards said. “Playing them will really help us see what the grind is really going to take to compete in an MVL schedule and to see if we can compete with some of the big dogs. I’ll be really curious about where we will be.”

Owen Edwards was 9-of-12 passing for 104 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Will Nikolozakes connected on all seven of his extra points.

Lawrence ran 16 times for 72 yards and passed for 68 markers.

zan-sports@gannett.com; X: @danb235

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Stymied: John Glenn's rugged defense dominated turnover-prone Cambridge