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CAMPBELL – In a clash between two unbeaten Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference teams, the Southern Indians managed to come away with some big defensive play to propel them to an impressive 46-22 victory over the Valley Christian Eagles.
The Indians improve to 6-2 overall this season, 5-0 in the EOAC. The Eagles fell to 5-2 that year, 3-1 in the league.
“It was a big game. It would be our playoff game if the playoffs started before tonight ”, Indians junior Cooper Edmonton said about the eighth-seeded Indians computer before the game.
The Indians scored three touchdowns on defense with a returned fumble and two touchdown interceptions to put them to a 46-0 halftime advantage. Luckily for the Indians, that proved to be enough as the Eagles stormed back in the second half despite a running clock.
“We played as well as we could play in the first half, but we played badly in the second half”, Indian coach Rich Wright pointed out. “It’s a tough place to play, and it’s a very physical football team. We took a good lead in that first half and then got a little too comfortable.”
“We knew they were spreading out so we went for deep cover and then when they ran the ball we blitzed,” he said. Edmonton explained the Indians’ defensive approach in the game.
“They had a good game plan and they executed it”, Eagles coach Andy Hake said. “Coach Wright is a good coach and they have a great team.”
The Indians started the game the way they’d hoped as they drove an impressive 65-yard, 11-play-to-score on a 6-yard run from Wyatt Morris. It happened at 6:20 of the first quarter.
The Eagles did, however, get an assist on their first possession of the game. He turned out to be the first of the three, but the only one the Indians didn’t convert to a touchdown.
The Indians quickly took advantage of the Eagle’s error as Morris scored again. This time it was a 4-yard run to push the Indians to 16-0 with just 11 seconds left in the first quarter.
But halfway through the second quarter, the floodgates opened for the Indians as Colton Soukup collected a fumble for a 25-yard touchdown return at 8:15, then continued with a 17-yard interception return. for a score with 6:41 left in the quarter. This took the Indian’s lead to 30-0.
The Indians scored once again when quarterback Ryan Exline joined Morris on a 38-yard touchdown pass. This gave them a 38-0 lead with 2:24 remaining before halftime.
Cooper Edmonton added the final points of the game for the Indians 25 seconds later when he caught a pass from the Eagles and returned it 30 yards for a score. This gave the Indians a 46-0 at intermission.
“We are very physical to be such a young team”, Wright said of his team of Indians. “They’re also physical, so it turned into a hard-hitting football game.”
To the Eagle’s credit, they did not go quietly. Despite a stopwatch, the Eagles launched a rushed attack and scored three times in the second half to avoid a stopwatch in the last minute of the game.
“I would have liked the second half team to come here in the first half. We can’t have three turnovers for touchdowns,” said Merlu. “Honestly, I give our kids so much credit for the way they played to stop the clock like that. This is what we wanted to do. I am really proud of our children.
Eagles Ja’Sean Lindsey scored on a 15-yard run in the third quarter, then Jon’Qual Pabellon ran it for 2 yards with 3:21 remaining to make it 46-14. After a successful kick, Eagles quarterback Joey Battista connected on a 60-yard touchdown pass to Jhordan Peete to make it 46-22 with just 46 ticks left. Palestine. The Eagles will try to bounce back next Saturday night when they host the Wellsville Tigers.
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