Isaiah Bailey makes a 30 yard catch, then runs in a touchdown

By: Tara Blue
For the second year in a row, the eighth grade football team closed out their season undefeated when they trounced the Hallsville Indians on Thursday, Oct. 17th.

The team came to win, and repeated touchdowns by Isaiah Bailey brought the team to a staggering 24-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Eagles’ defense continued to shutout the Indians, and a long catch and subsequent touchdown by Bailey brought the score to 30-0 at the half.

Hallsville finally scored at the start of third quarter, but the Eagles answered with another touchdown caught by Luke Nelson in the end zone, followed by a successful two-point conversion.

The Indians did not give up though, and managed one more touchdown in the fourth quarter, bringing the final score to 38-12.

The seventh grade game kicked off the night and back and forth leads ultimately ended in a Hallsville victory. The Eagles scored first but Hallsville answered with a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion, bringing the score to 8-6 Hallsville.

It looked as though the Eagles would score again when a 25 yard run by Chris Bradshaw took us up to the 25 yard line, and a 20 yard pass was caught by Mason Roewe took us up to the 1 yard line, but a holding penalty on the Eagles brought the ball back and we failed to score.

Chris Bradshaw makes the catch, despite heavy coverage

Hallsville took possession but an interception by Gunnar Bolinger put the ball back into Eagle hands.

A pass to Sam Leininger brought the ball to the 3 yard line, and Bolinger ran in another touchdown, bringing the score to 12-8 Eagles at the half. No team scored during the third quarter, but the Indians scored at the start of fourth quarter, putting them back in the lead at 16-12.

A Hallsville runner is tripped up by Isaiah Bethel and Gunnar Bolinger

Eagles lost the ball with a fumble on the punt return, but an interception by Rush Talley, a subsequent touchdown by Bradshaw, and a successful two-point conversion put Southern Boone back on top 20-16 with five minutes left in the game. Hallsville pushed back in final victory with one last touchdown, putting them on top for a final score of 22-20.

See our Facebook page for more photos. Dan Vande Voorde contributed to this story.

Congratulations to these young athletes on a successful season!