By Mark Blentlinger
If you were in Schoolcraft on Friday, September 14th, and you were hoping to see a good Football game, you didn’t see a good game, you saw a great football game! Saugatuck came in with a 3-0 record, looking to make it 4-0. The Eagles, however, were looking to come back from a loss to Berrien Springs the week prior and make their record 3-1.
There was a total of 871 yards in offense between both teams. The Indians of Saugatuck having 505 yards, the Eagles with 366. The first TD of the game came at the 9:28 mark on the clock, with a 37 yards pass from Alex Thole to Kobe Clark. Kobe had a highlight reel run of dodging, weaving and breaking tackle after tackle to find himself in the end zone. With a good extra point kick, from Chandler Guiter, the score sat at 7-0. It didn’t take long for Saugatuck to be celebrating themselves, in the Eagle end zone, with a 49 yard run by Brad Dunn. A good extra point kick put the score at 7-7, with the clock reading 8:15 in the 1st quarter. Shortly thereafter, Dunn, of Saugatuck, scored again at the 3:33 mark, with a 24 yard TD run. The extra point was good, giving Saugatuck the 14-7 lead going into the 2nd quarter.
The 2nd quarter was a battle back and forth until Eagle, Trevor DeGroote, stepped in front of a pass from Dunn, to intercept and stop Saugatuck’s drive down field. At that point, Coach Ferency, was sending in play after play. The biggest one coming off of a pass from Thole to Jimmy Downs, going 41 yards. Clark capped off the drive by going the last 2 yards into the end zone. The kick from Guiter was once again right on, sending both teams into halftime, tied at 14.
The 3rd quarter saw both teams swapping off. Scoring first, a run from Nick Baumbach of Saugatuck, that went 73 yards. Next, Eagle Chris Cooper, snagged a 10 yards pass from Thole, knotting it up again at 21 each. Again, the teams swapped TD’s, bringing it up to 28 all. Brad Dunn of Saugatuck, showed his speed yet again, going 44 yards downfield. The Eagles answered with a great pass, right into the number on the chest of Jett Gott and the race was off! Thirty-nine yards later, the high fives and jump bumps started!
The fourth quarter started with the scoreboard reading 35 on each side. Both teams worked hard to add to the points, until time ran out, forcing OT #1. The Indians, with first possession, were able to drive Dunn around the defense of Schoolcraft for the score. The Eagles then got their shot from the 10 yard line. After a first attempt only gaining 3 yards, Clark, capped it off from 7 yards out, bringing the score to 42-42.
OT #2, the Eagles struck first with a nice 6 yard run up the middle from, Mark Fox, plus the extra point kick from Guiter, made the score 49-42 Eagles. Dunn then answered again, scoring from 5 yards out. The Indians decided to go for the 2 point conversion and the win. The Eagles built a stone wall and said, sorry, not today, and were able to hold off the conversion to win the game, 49-48!
The Eagles won convincingly on the 21st at Delton Kellogg.