Eagles Defeat Indians
The St. Francis Indians traveled to Wray, Colorado, on September 23 for high school football. Wray did not prove to be a gracious host as the #7 ranked Eagles clobbered the Indians 8-47.
St. Francis received the opening kickoff and returned it to the 15 yard line. Three plays later, the Indians were looking at 4th and 6 and punted. The kick was low, but went for good distance.
Wray set up their offense on their own 35 yard line with 9:49 left in the quarter. The Eagles took three plays to earn a first down. On the Eagles next third down, they struck paydirt with a 61 yard pass to a wide open receiver. The kick was good. The Indians trailed 0-7 with 7:25 left in the 1st quarter.
The Indians set their offense on their own 20 after the kickoff. A first down pass fell incomplete, but a roughing the passer penalty on the Eagles moved the ball to the 30. A couple plays later, the Indians faced 4th and long and punted again.
Wray was called for holding on the punt return and began at the Eagle 30 yard line with 4:13 left in the period. A 3rd down pass went for 15 yards and a 1st down on the Wray 45 yard line. The Eagles picked up yards quickly on runs of 15, 12, 7, and 5 yards. The Eagles scored on a 13 yard run with 1:04 left in the 1st period. The kick was no good, but the Eagles led 0-13.
St. Francis set up on the 25 yard line and punted the ball back to the Eagles four plays later when facing 4th and 8. The first quarter expired just before the punt.
Wray returned the punt to the St. Francis 16 yard line. The Eagles were looking good with 11:05 left in the half. On the first play from scrimmage, Wray scored on a pitch around the right side. The conversion pass was good. The Indians fell behind 0-21 with 11:00 left in the half.
The bouncing kickoff was recovered by Wolaver on the Sainty 15 yard line. Wolaver had a nice 20 yard run on 2nd down with 9:50 in the half. The Indians were thrown for losses on the next two plays and soon faced 3rd and 20. A third down pass was incomplete, and the Indians punted again.
Wray called for a fair catch on the Eagle 47. On first down, Schwinn ran to the Indian 24 yard line. On the next play Schultz scored on a 24 yard run. The PAT kick was no good. The Indians trailed 0-27 with 7:03 left in the first half.
The Indians muffed the kickoff and were caught deep on their own 10 yard line. The Indians earned their 1st first down of the game with 5:19 left in the 2nd period after advancing the ball to the 22 yard line. Facing 4 and 12, the Indians punted yet again.
The punt by Wolaver was a good one, but the Eagles still had good field position on the Indian 49 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, the Eagles scored on a 49 yard pass play. The kick failed, but the Indians were in a deep hole 0-33.
The Indians set up on their 30 yard line. On 2nd and 14, Dylan Wolaver ran for 20 yards off left tackle. Soon the Indians were looking at 4th and 17.
Wray took over on downs with 5.2 seconds left in the half, ran one running play, and headed to the locker room with a commanding 0-33 lead at halftime.
Wray received the second half kickoff and set up at their own 35 yard line. Seven plays later, the Eagles had earned 1st and goal at the 6. Schultz scored on a 6 yard run, but the play was called back due to an Eagle holding penalty. On first and goal from the 16, Wray ran a quarterback keeper to the 1/2 yard line. The Eagles scored on a dive on the next play from scrimmage. This touchdown was nullified when an Eagle receiver was called for being in the neutral zone too soon. The Eagles then faced 1st and goal at the 6. The Eagles found their way to the endzone again, but this TD was erased due to a holding penalty. With 1st and goal from the 16, Schutlz scored on a 16 yard run. St. Francis was called for encrochment on the PAT attempt. The ball was moved half the distance to the goal and the kick was good. The Indians fell behind 0-44.
A running clock was used for the rest of the game. On the next Indian possession, the Indians went three-and-out again. The punt snap was high, sailed over the punter's head, and was recovered by the Indians on the 7 yard line.
The Eagles took over, 1st and goal, with 1:30 left in the third period. Wray soon scored on a 6 yard pass play to earn a 0-47 lead.
The Indians returned the ball to the 22 yard line, but could not move the ball. On 4th and 6, the Indians punted again.
The kick ended up deep in Eagle territory. The Indian defense stopped the Eagles, now mosting consisting of non-starting players, for the first time in the game and the Eagles punted.
St. Francis took over on their own 36 yard line with about 4 minutes of running clock left. Mike Leibbrandt scored from 63 yards out with approximately one minute left in the game to get the Indians on the board. The conversion run was also good. The Indians kicked off to the Eagles, and the clock expired with the ball on the Eagle 40 yard line. St. Francis lost to a very strong Eagle team, 8-47.
Unofficial stats showed the Eagles with 212 yard rushing and 139 passing. The Eagles also committed numerous penalites costing them 80 yards. St. Francis gained 31 yards on the ground and 0 in the air. The Indians only had 8 penalty yards.
The Indians will play the Decatur Community Red Devils in Oberlin on September 30th.
