If points could be awarded for early effort, and not giving up when the going got tough, the Eagle football team would have made the final score closer last Friday in the season and home opener. After taking a comeback 16-14 first half lead over visiting Saint Edmond, the purple and gold simply couldn’t stop the Gaels in throughout the second half and suffered a 61-16 loss.
After spotting the Gaels a two-touchdown lead, our hometown hero’s tightened their chinstraps and went to work. Quarterback Jake Jeske scored on two short bursts, from two yards ten from one yard out, with Roberto Calles tacking on two conversion runs for the two-point advantage. However, they could not get complacent as there was still a lot of game left. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out exactly that way.
“I don’t believe the final score depicts how the game actually went,” said head coach Logan Willard. “We are so young, and I think we saw some pre-game jitters that we eventually overcame to rally back and take the lead. Our guys showed the potential of what they can be, we just have to learn from our mistakes and keep working at being consistent.”
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Eagles 8 8 0 0 16
Gaels 14 13 20 14 61
Passing
Jeske 4 of 14 50 yds. 0 TD 3 INT 58.6
Rushing
Jeske 21 att. 86 yds. 4.1 avg. 2 TD
Richardson 5 25 5.0 0
Morgan 4 21 5.3 0
Calles 8 20 2.5 0
Gearhart 1 7 7.0 0
Schultz 2 7 3.5 0
Pritchard 3 -2 — 0
Receiving
Huntley 2 rec. 30 yds. 15.0 avg. 0 TD
Canavan 1 20 20.0 0
Morgan 1 0 — 0
Special Teams
Calles 3 kicks 66 yds. 22.0 avg.
Hansen 2 punts 78 yds. 39.0 avg.
Conversions
Calles 2 4 pts.
Kick Returns
Calles 5 80 yds. 16.0 avg. 0 TD
Schultz 3 38 12.7 0
Punt Returns
Schultz 1 1 1.0 0
Richardson1 0 — 0
Tackles
Huntley 5 total 3 solo
Darland 6.5 4
Pritchard 2.5 2
Morgan 2.5 2
Olson 2.5 2
Richardson2.5 1
Dencklau 2.5 1
Mendoza 2.0 1
Pamperin 1.0 1
Dornath-
Cook 1.5 1
Orozco 1.5 1
Dawson 2.5 0
Calles 1.5 0
Canavan 1.5 0
Gearhart 1.0 0
Vrba 1.0 0
Sacks/Tackle for loss
Olson 1/1
Canavan fumble recovery, blocked PAT
“I thought Jeske and Canavan showed they belong on the field,” continued Willard. “The second half slipped away from us, but the Gaels are a very experienced team that just kept the pedal down and that’s what good teams do. They know how to handle adversity, and we are still in the process of learning that. It comes with more practice and more game experience. Darland was our leading tackler. Calles and Richardson both did a nice job of carrying the load in the backfield. I like our running back rotation. We look forward to week two, as West Central Valley comes to town. I hope our supporters continue to show up. It was a great turnout last Friday, and it’s great to have live sports again!”
