Three yards and a pile of mud
By TERRY LIDY
It was the type of game that former NFL Coach John Madden loved, mud and grime with a lot of soiled uniforms that made the former Oakland Raiders coach proud of being in a football game with the elements.
Proud of his Eagles was Coach Jason Fulton for battling a powerful #4 Mt. Zion Braves and the weather before falling 36-0 last Friday at Mt. Zion. Despite the outcome, the Eagles trailed only 14-0 at the half. "The kids played hard and I'm not disappointed. In the first half we battled and were right there. That's a good football team we played and I'm proud of our kids," said Fulton.
The Eagles got the ball first as Michael Fleming kicked to Zak Snearley who returned to the 25. The Eagles gained a first down at the 35 on a Jake Pilman carry on the heavy field as the green grass turned into a quagmire. A 5-yard penalty for encroachment set the Eagles back to the 30 and they advanced no farther as Dustin Hord punted to the Mt. Zion (MtZ) 47. Crossing the 50, MtZ moved on the ground using a tandem of backs QB Jack MacIntosh, Jacob Smith, Krys Gray and Drew Hadden to reach the Eagle 25 with 6:46 left. The series continued as the Braves' MacIntosh fumbled but recovered. In 7 plays, Mt Zion scored as Smith scored from the 2 with 3:53 left.
The PAT hit the right upright by Fleming as MtZ led 6-0.
Starting from their 20, the Eagles moved to the 29 as David Storer carried. With 2:21 remaining, Brian Emmerich gave the Eagles a first down at the 30. The Eagles advanced only to the 39 forcing a Dustin Hord punt to the MtZ 27.
The Braves moved across the 50 on the ground, but fumbled eventually at the 36 where Marc Brandenburg recovered for the Eagles with 9:59 left in the half. However, the Eagles moved only to 40 as Emmerich completed a 3-yard pass to Pilman. Hord then punted to the MtZ 37 with 8:04 left. Despite two procedure penalties, MtZ eventually scored as a 9-play drive resulted in a 15-yard score off the left side by Gray with 4:22 remaining. A 2-point run by Gray was stopped by the Eagles as they trailed 14-0.
After Jerry Howze returned the kick to the 27, the Eagles moved to the 38 as Storer gave the Eagles a new series. However, the series ended at the 40 forcing a Hord punt to the MtZ 36 with 2:00 left. That final possession of the half ended with 30 seconds left when Marc Brandenburg recovered his second fumble at the Newton 35 as the Eagles trailed 14-0 at the half.
MtZ received to start the second half and started a drive from their 37 as Caleb Hawkins returned Ryan Kocher's kick. As field conditions continued to worsen, MtZ used ball control and scored in 8 plays. The final 10-yards resulting in a score by Hadden with 9:19 left. The Fleming PAT made it 21-0.
With Dylan Casey replacing the injured Brian Emmerich as QB, the Eagles started their next series from the 29 after a Howze return of the kick. Casey and Storer carried to the 34, but a third down pass was incomplete forcing a punt. However, MtZ ran into Hord on his punt giving the Eagles a first down at the 39 with 7:16 remaining. A procedure penalty on the Eagles pushed Newton back 5-yards and they failed to gain another first down as Hord punted to the MtZ 44 with 4:43 left.
Starting there, MtZ moved to the Eagle 47 and went for it on fourth down and 2. Gray kept the drive going with a rush to the Newton 44. Later from the 30, MacIntosh scored as he rolled right and apparently scored only to have the run nullified by an illegal block at the 11 with 1:42 left.
From the 21, Gray gave the Braves a first and goal at the 6 with a 15-yard run. Two straight false starts set MtZ back to the Eagle 16. From there, Smith scored the fourth MtZ touchdown with 33 seconds left on the next play. A 2-point run by MacIntosh made it 29-0 as the quarter ended seconds later.
The Eagles started the final period at their 25 as Howze returned the Fleming kick. Storer carried to the 32, but the Eagles went three plays and out as Hord punted to the MtZ 26. Using their reserves, MtZ failed to gain and Gray punted to the Newton 27 with 8:32 remaining.
Dylan Casey gave the Eagles a first down with a run to the 40. Here the Eagles were stopped again by the MtZ defense as Hord punted to the 32 as the Eagles also brought on their reserves to finish the contest. MtZ drove 68-yards to score the final TD with 1:46 left as Toby Walter scored from the 5 as the score mounted to 36-0.
The Eagles received their fifth first down of the game when Garrett Birch gained 10-yards to the 38 as time moved to the final minute. It was a gallant effort by a bunch of game Eagles who didn't back down and made MtZ earn every yard.
MtZ had 376 rushing yards with zero passing yards while running 66 plays. MtZ held the Eagles to 77 total yards with only 2 coming by the air game.
The MtZ win assures them at least a tie for the Apollo title with a 7-0 overall record and 6-0 in the Apollo. The Eagles are now 2-5 overall and 1-5 in the conference.
"I thought we played Newton football tonight. We had several injuries which is tough, but all in all it was a good effort by the kids," said Fulton afterwards.
The Eagles finish their Apollo season on Friday traveling to Salem 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the Apollo. Salem edged Charleston 14-7 last Friday.
Also last week, Effingham stopped Robinson 19-7 and Paris downed Olney 35-19.
In week 8, Effingham 6-1 and 5-1 in the conference travels to Charleston 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the Apollo. Mt. Zion 7-0 and 6-0 visits Olney 0-7 and 0-6. Paris 2-5 and 2-4 travels to Robinson 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the Apollo.
The Eagles return home for the season finale in week 9 on Senior Night against Breese Mater Dei.
Two qualify for state
By TERRY LIDY
Two cross country runners, one from JCJH and another from St. Thomas will run in the IESA State Cross Country Finals on Saturday at Maxwell Park in Bloomington.
Madalyn Green, an eighth grader at JCJH advanced to the finals after a 16th place in the girls Shelbyville Sectional last Saturday at Forest Park with a 13:41 time over two miles.
Luke Stone, an eighth grader at St. Thomas placed fifth in the boys Shelbyville Sectional to advance with an 11:55 time.
Linda Tharp is the coach of the JCJH-St. Thomas cross country team.
Golf Eagles qualify two
By TERRY LIDY
Sophomores Mitch Mammoser and Peyton Wyatt made the cut and advanced as individuals from non-qualifying teams last Tuesday at the Mount Carmel 1A boys' golf regional on a rainy day.
Mammoser shot an 86 and Wyatt had a 90 to advance to this week's Benton Sectional at Rend Lake Golf Course in Whittington.
The top three teams also advance with Mount Carmel winning the regional with a 291. Olney and Robinson also advance with a 328 and a 337.
Lady Eagles atop the Apollo
By TERRY LIDY
The NCHS Lady Eagles moved into first place with an 8-1 record after stopping Salem 25-11, 25-16 on Susan G. Komen Volley for the Cure Night at the NCHS gym.
Salem won the junior varsity match 25-19, 25-18. However, Newton won the freshman contest 19-25, 25-14, 17-5.
In the varsity contest Kimberlin Wallace had 12 kills, 4 blocks and 6 digs to pace the Lady Eagles. Wallace also handed out 7 assists while Joni Hahn led the team with 9. Hahn also had 6 kills, 3 digs and a block. Whitney Koebele had 6 digs and 2 kills. Erica Earnest had 3 digs and 2 kills. Sydney May added 2 kills and a block.
Terra Flowers and Nicole Schackmann led in aces with 2 each. Flowers also had 6 digs, while Schackmann had 3. Lucy Emmerich added a dig and Beth Helmink a kill for Coach Nicole Underwood's team.
Nobody was actually a loser on the night as over $3,000 was raised as the NCHS gym was a sea of pink for the worthy cause.
Lady Eagles win at Charleston
By TERRY LIDY
In a hard fought Apollo contest last Thursday at Charleston, the Lady Eagle spikers won a three set match over Charleston 25-22, 15-25, 25-23 to improve to 9-1 in the Apollo and 16-6 overall.
The senior threesome of Kimberlin Wallace, Joni Hahn and Whitney Koebele led the charge. Wallace had 12 kills, 9 assists and 11 digs. Hahn had 7 kills and 10 assists and 7 digs. Koebele had 11 digs, 8 kills and 3 aces.
Others who contributed included Terra Flowers with 5 digs. Nicole Schackmann had 7 digs and 2 aces. Lucy Emmerich had 4 digs. Beth Helmink had a kill and a block. Sydney May had a kill, whle Erica Earnest had 4 digs and Morgan Swingler contributed 4 digs and an ace.
Charleston won the junior varsity match 25-10, 25-13 and also the freshmen contest 25-22, 25-18.
After an Apollo match with Olney, the Lady Eagles return for a Thursday home match with Paris on Pack the Place Night and Senior Night. Four seniors will be honored for their service and dedication to the program.
Those to be recognized are Lucy Emmerich, Joni Hahn, Whitney Koebele and Kimberlin Wallace.
Newton, Ill. —
