LOCK HAVEN -The Lock Haven football team dropped its 46th consecutive game on Saturday and matched the longest losing streak in NCAA Division II history.
The latest setback, a 35-19 loss to Edinboro, matched the record of Minnesota-Morris.
The Bald Eagles (0-4, 0-2 PSAC-West) did score their first touchdown of the season.
"That is just something we needed to happen," said Lock Haven head coach John Allen. "We knew once we got that first score things would change as far as confidence and momentum are concerned. We saw it on the defensive side of the ball last week when we held IUP to just seven points in the first half. But offensively we needed to feel those same emotions with a touchdown and that was great to see."
The Scots drew first blood as they took advantage of good field position on their first possession following a punt.
Ben Eisel returned the punt to the Lock Haven 16 and four plays later, Edinboro quarterback Cody Harris went around the left side untouched for the final 2 yards and the score.
Held scoreless through the first dozen quarters of the season, the Bald Eagles finally scored when Brandon Brader went in from 3 yards out with three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Brader touchdown capped an 80-yard, 14 play drive. The big play on the march was a 14-yard scamper on third down by quarterback Jarrett Kratzer to the Edinboro 7.
The Bald Eagles took their first lead of the season on their next possession and it was Brader again.
The hard-nosed tailback capped a 70-yard, seven-play drive with a 7-yard run for the score.
Two big plays on the march were a Kratzer to James Wilbern pass completion for 47 yards and a run of 11 yards to the 7 by Jay Livelsberger out of punt formation. On the next play, Brader did the rest and although the PAT was no good, the Bald Eagles held a 13-7 lead.
"You gain confidence in what we were calling, you gain confidence in protecting and running the football, but I thought we had to see something of an explosive nature to get us going," said Allen. "We have to be aggressive so successfully executing the fake field goal and fake punt were big plays for us. I thought we executed well, they made plays and now they can see that on film and talk about it over the weekend. Now we need to work on some of the little details to become more consistent in finishing situations to be able to put a full game together."
Taking advantage of good field position following a short punt, the Scots regained the upperhand for good. Harris ripped up the gut for the final 10 yards and Sean Seefeldt added the PAT.
The Scots added to their lead before the first half with a three-play, 55-yard drive that took just 20 seconds.
The touchdown came on a 20-yard pass from Harris to Ben Eisel and gave Edinboro a 21-13 lead.
"Yeah, it was (demoralizing)," said Allen. "That was difficult to take because we had a chance to get them off the field. But we bounced back in the second half to get back to playing good football. Those are some of the little things we need to clean up and when we need to make a stop, we have to focus in on what we need to do to get the job done."
Leading 21-13 to begin the second half, the Scots quickly extended their advantage to 35-13 when they scored on two of their first three possessions of the third quarter.
Continuing to play hard, the Bald Eagles kept the Scots off the scoreboard for the final 18 minutes of the game while scoring their third touchdown of the game. Kratzer set the final when he capped a 13-play, 63-yard drive with a 4-yard burst to the end zone.
The Bald Eagles will be right back in action on the Jack Stadium turf on Saturday against unbeaten Shippensburg. Kickoff for that contest is set for noon.
