FAIRFIELD — Edward Little had the ball and the momentum Friday night.

The only question that remained was whether they’d be able to do anything with it.

The Red Eddies had rallied and closed the gap within one touchdown late in the season opener against Lawrence at Keyes Field. EL even had the ball in the final minutes and had the chance to tie it.

“We wanted to score – just get it in the end zone,” said EL coach Dave Sterling. “We got a penalty we didn’t expect. That set us back. We had confusion on a second penalty that was called.”

EL’s comeback hopes came up short from there. Despite the fumble recovery that led to that late possession from the 34, EL’s rally fizzled out and Lawrence held on for the 26-18 win.

“We’re very happy with the performance we put in,” said Sterling. “We’re not happy with coming up short. We know we can play better.”

EL was down  26-6 after a poor second quarter. Lawrence took advantage of two  interceptions and a Shaun Carroll punt return to open the lead with four straight scores.

EL came to life in the fourth however. The Red Eddies got a Darnell Hairston run from the 3 with 8:34 left in the game to cut the lead to 26-12. Then EL tried an onsides kick and recovered it with 8:31 remaining. The Red Eddies marched downfield and made it 26-18 with 5:25 left when Josh Delong connected with Quin Leary for a three-yard pass. Delong threw for 104 yards on eight completions, including two scoring passes to Leary.

“We found some things offensively we could do better,” said Sterling. “Our special teams made a great play on the onsides kick. Our offense wasn’t gelling in the first half. We found what we need to do and became better as a unit as the game went along. We just ran out of time.”

Lawrence had opportunity to run the clock down in the final five minutes, but Bulldog quarterback Spencer Carey fumbled on a scramble wtih 3:47 .  Caleb Spruill made the recovering setting EL up at the 34.

The Red Eddies couldn’t keep the momentum moving though. EL moved more backwards than forwards in that final drive. The first two passes went incomplete downfield. Then a penalty pushed them back. Another penalty followed on the next play moving EL to the other side of midfield.  After a short completion to Dylan Deconzo for eight yards, EL faced third fourth and 13 from the 37. Delong scrambled on the play but only managed eight yards, allowing the Bulldogs to take over on downs.

“That’s the first week of high school football,” said Sterling. “You’ve got momentum going and then it goes back on you.”

EL took the early lead when Lawrence bobbled a punt snap, setting the Red Eddies up at the 24. Delong hit Leary in the corner of the end zone for a 23-yard scoring play with 8:04 left in the first.

Lawrence tied it early in the second when Carroll took it in from the 9. Then Carroll put the Bulldogs in the lead when he took a punt back 84 yards with 7:07 left in the half.

Lawrence added two more in the third. Carey hit Alex Leathers on a 38-yard pass play. Then Carroll broke loose for a 66-yard run with 3:17 left in the third. Carroll finished with 169 yards on 19 carriers. Hairston led EL with 84 yards on 22 tries.

“The resiliency of our team was what I was very proud off,” said Sterling. “We were down 26-6. Most high school kids turn away at that point. We fought hard and got back in the game and gave ourselves a chance.”

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