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Correspondent Photo / Raquan Bell, a senior Robert Hayes Eagles, shows up on Saturday for a touchdown reception against Columbiana.
CAMPBELL – The Valley Christian Eagles capitalized on several big games, beating the Columbiana Clippers 35-20 in a key Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference game on Saturday night.
The win improves the Eagles to 5-1 on the season, 3-0 in the EOAC. The Clippers fall to 1-6 on aggregate, 0-4 in the league.
Perhaps the biggest game of the night for the Eagles came early in the second half. With the Eagles leading 14-6, but the Clippers showing some life at the end of the first half, the Eagles’ defense forced the Clippers to pull on their opening possession in the third quarter.
Jon’Trell Mixon rushed over and blocked Clippers Mike Seeger’s punt. The Eagles Camden Cecil-Cox recovered the ball and went 23 yards for a touchdown and a three-possession lead at 21-6.
“It was the difference” Eagles coach Andy Hake said. “It was 14-6 and the game could have gone either way. Jon’Trell Mixon is a special one, and he blocked it. He made several good plays in the game.
“It gave us a boost of energy”, Eagles senior receiver VeShun Gurley added.
“He was a killer” Clippers coach Bob Spaite exclaimed. “We’ve been talking all week that we have to be the most disciplined team. We couldn’t make any critical mistakes. And I’m the special teams coach, so it’s mine. We will correct this.
But the Clippers responded with an impressive practice, scoring on a 27-yard pass from quarterback Anthony Kocanjer to Eddie Clancy three minutes later. This closed the deficit at 21-14.
The Eagles responded immediately with a 10-game drive with Cameron Davenport throwing a jump ball to wide receiver VeShun Gurley in the corner of the end zone. Gurley passed the Clippers defenseman to secure a touchdown and a 28-14 lead with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“I was just going to do my best to catch it” Gurley said of the take. “I am blessed to be able to jump as high as I do. It was an incredible throw from the quarterback. He doesn’t even play the quarterback.
The Clippers and Eagles would trade touchdowns in the fourth quarter, with the Eagles Gurly scoring again, this time on a 24-yard pass to give the Eagles a 35-14 lead, before the Clippers ended the scoring with a 31 yards. from Kocanjer to Trevor Dearing with 8:04 to play.
“We had a few chances and the kids played hard. Hats off to Coach Hake. They definitely outperform us in a few areas. Overall I was not disappointed with the way we played ”, Spaite noticed.
The Clippers will try to bounce back next Friday when they travel to eastern Palestine. The Eagles will host the league-leading Southern Indians next Saturday night in Campbell.
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