Eagles fall victim in the “perfect storm” upset to Wynot 12-6…..
Eagles fall victim in the “perfect storm” upset to Wynot 12-6…..
The season finale proved to be a total “perfect storm” of mistakes that allowed the Wynot Blue Devils to steal a 12-6 win on Friday at Allen.
The defenses for both squads played well, but the Eagles offense might have been the toughest defense during the night. Fumbles, mishandling of the ball, missed blocks, and penalties literally stopped every offensive drive on the night. The usually proficient offense never got on track due to blunder after blunder, allowing the Blue Devils opportunities. 9 of the 11 Eagle possessions were marred with a fumble, slip, missed assignment, or penalty.
Nonetheless, the Eagle defense kept the Eagles in the game, pitching a shutout during the first half, until the 39 second mark, when the Blue Devils hit on a 17 yard scoring pass to take a 6-0 lead at intermission.
The Eagles came out of halftime on their first possession and played a clean drive and went the entire field for their first score to knot the game at 6-6.
The defense got the ball right back and the offense drove again, but a penalty backed up the Eagles and a fourth down pass reception that looked like a touchdown was thwarted by a slip on the grass.
Field position in the second half was held by Wynot. Midway in the fourth period, Wynot forced an Eagle punt from deep in Allen territory. The punt catch was fumbled, Allen recovered, but an inadvertent whistle, caused the play to be nullified, and forced the Eagles to punt again. The second chance due to replay of the punt, afforded Wynot a second chance to score, instead of being on the defensive in their territory was all they needed.
The Blue Devils, limited to 119 total yards all night, took advantage of the situation, and finally hit one big pass play of 33 yards of that total midway through the fourth period to allow them to score at the 6:33 mark of the final frame to take the lead at 12-6.
Following the score, the Eagles quickly advanced near midfield before their final drive resulted in a turnover.
Wynot ran out the clock for the win, and qualified for a state playoff spot as well.
Offensively, Lukas Oswald carried 27 times for 129 yards and a score, while defensively Anthony Isom and Brogan Jones led the tacklers with 14 and 11 respectively. Jones added a fumble recovery.
The loss dropped the final regular season record of the Eagles to 6-2, 3-2 in the district. Next action is Thursday, October 31st, when the Eagles travel to Lawerence-Nelson to tangle with the Raiders.
COACHES COMMENTS:
“We were our worst enemy, with miscues. Wynot played as well as they possibly could and we gave them just enough chances to take advantage of our play. That is why games are played every week. You just never know. The message before the game was to be ready to get a battle. We played with no energy, they did, and it showed. We are going to apply this experience to the upcoming week of practice. While disappointing, it is over, and we are moving on and playing next week. That is our main objective right now.”