Eagles nail down first Class 3 district title with tough defensive stand in Moberly snowball.

Amidst an early November snow that had fans bundled up in the stands and made the ground a frozen white blanket, the Southern Boone Eagles football team captured the Class 3 District 4 title with a 12-6 win over the Moberly Spartans on Friday night.

But the wet, cold, slippery playing conditions made it tough for both teams and the game came down to a defensive stand by the Eagles.

Holding onto a slim 12-6 fourth quarter lead, SoBoCo’s Sam Stichnote punted the ball to the Moberly 6-yard where it was downed with just a little over 9 minutes to go.

“I knew that this would most likely be their last drive,” Stichnote said, “and we knew it was going to be tough for them.”

The Spartans were nearly up to the task. They drove the ball downfield, but the Eagles defense stiffened in the red zone. Moberly faced a fourth-and-eight from the 15 yard line and when they attempted to run a reverse, Eagles linebacker Colby Phillips made the stop, turning the ball over on downs.

“Colby stayed at home just like he is supposed to,” Eagles coach Trent Tracy said of the big stop.

With only 58-seconds left, it was up to Stichnote to merely take a snap and kneel the ball down in ‘vicotry’ formation.

“I was so excited and celebrating that we stopped them,” Stichnote said, “but then I realized I had to re-focus and think about how to close it out.”

The district title is the first for the Eagles since they were moved to Class 3 and the first in the current 8-team format. It is the second district title for the Eagles football team.

“We showed that we can play with and beat some schools in bigger towns and schools that have football programs with a lot of tradition,” Tracy added.

~ Read the rest in today’s Journal ~

By Briley Eilers