After Harmony Win, Edgewood is Looking for Another Big Victory for Its Program Against Lone Oak

Edgewood's win over Harmony last week was one of those that can be a major turning point for a football program.

The Eagles were previously ranked among the top 10 Class 3A teams in Texas and were the first of five tough games on the Bulldogs' District 8-3A Division II schedule.

But Edgewood came out on top, 44-34, to get early momentum in district and secure its third straight victory.

"It was huge. It was huge for our program and it was huge for our kids," Edgewood coach Kevin Bachtel said. "We've been talking about day one about winning our district and we knew we'd have to go through Harmony and Lone Oak. We've got one by us now. It built the kids' confidence. They believe they can play with people now."

That kind of momentum is especially important for Edgewood, which wasn't able to play Week 1 because of weather and took a close loss to Commerce in Week 3. But the Bulldogs responded, beating Grand Saline (70-42), Quinlan Boles (48-20) and Harmony (44-34) and averaging 54 points per win in the process.

"It's been big for us because we've shown that we can win games and we can also win close games," Bachtel said. "When something bad happens they can dig down and know they can pull it out. Being 1-0 is huge but that's one behind you."

What might be bigger than a Harmony win is a win on Friday against Lone Oak, a team that Edgewood hasn't beaten in more than a decade. Lone Oak has 11 consecutive wins against the Bulldogs, so a win would be another huge boost for Bachtel's program.

"I told our kids after the Harmony game that they had the weekend and then on Monday it's Lone Oak time," Bachtel said. "They don't care if you beat Harmony or not, and they feel like they've got your number."

Bachtel came into Edgewood a late hire to take over for Ryan Simmons, who left after nine years as head coach. He inherited plenty of experience at the skill positions, including quarterback Trey Erwin, running back Jaylon Spencer and receiver Trey King. Bachtel said the response to him being a new coach has been positive, which he said helped put them in position to win.

"I've always thought Edgewood is a good place and had good kids, and we had some kids coming back so they're experienced," Bachtel said. "I was a little worried if they would buy in to what I'm selling, and they've bought in. We just have to keep building on what we've been doing."

The Bulldogs have shown they can put up some points this season, which will be necessary against an offense like Lone Oak's. The Buffaloes are 4-2 this season and are coming off a 39-0 shutout of Alba-Golden in their first non-district game.

"We just have to hang on to the football, be sound and tackle and don't turn the ball over," Bachtel said. "We've got good enough kids to win if we take care of our business. But they're not going to come here and just give it to us. We have to show up and play or we'll be 1-1."