DUPO LOSE HARD FOUGHT BATTLE

The Columbia Eagles and the Dupo Tigers relit the rivalry fires Friday night in a physical, hard fought Varsity football game that saw the Eagles come away with the 20-8 victory.  Both teams were coming off difficult losses from a week ago and were hoping to get back on the winning track.  And with the Cahokia Conference title race just beginning to take shape a win tonight for either team would give a much needed boost.

The Dupo Tigers started the game in exciting fashion.  On the opening kickoff Tiger kicker Caleb Tatum directed an onside kick to the right side of the field.  Tiger running back Matt Ragsdale raced down the sideline to scoop the ball up on the run and advance it a few more yards.  Dupo had a first and ten at the Eagle 34 yard line. But a personal foul penalty pushed the Tigers back giving them a first and twenty at the Eagle 44 yard line. The Tigers couldn’t muster any offense though and after a solid Joe Higgerson punt they had the Eagles pinned at their own 4 yard line.  The Eagles moved the ball well on their first drive behind the arm of quarterback Tanner Hall, as he completed a number of short and intermediate passes to a number of Eagle receivers.  But on a first and ten at the Tiger 30 yard line Hall was intercepted by Tiger linebacker Tyler Maynard giving the Tigers the ball at their own 35 yard line.  The Tigers still struggled on offense though as the Eagle defense did a good job against the Tigers rushing attack.  The Eagles offense started to move the ball again past midfield but on a 3^rd and 4 at the Eagle 49 yard line quarterback Tanner Hall ran the ball only to fumble and give it back to the Tigers. But the Tigers were in a giving mood as well, fumbling the ball back to the Eagles.  The Eagles worked their way further into Tiger territory until they had a 1^st and 10 at the 10 yard line.  After three plays the Eagles had a 4^th and 2 yards to go at the 2 yard line and Tanner Hall rolled right to find Billy Haag in the right side of the end zone for the touchdown.  The touchdown marked the 7000^th point scored in Columbia High Football history. Tanner Hall added the extra point to make it 7-0 Eagles with 11:19 left in the second quarter and 7001 points.

After an excellent kickoff return by Joe Higgerson the Tigers started their next drive at their own 44 yard line.  But after stalling in Eagle territory the Tigers once again had the Eagles pinned deep in their own field.  The Tiger defense seemed to be handling the short passing game of the Eagles better, stopping Eagles receivers for short gains and deflecting a few passes as well. At the 6:41 mark of the second quarter the Tigers intercepted another Eagle pass giving them the ball at the Eagle 44 yard line.  The Tigers called timeout on a 4^th and 4 with 4:54 left in the half.  Tyler Maynard burst through the middle carrying Eagle tacklers with him as he gained the 1^st down at the Eagles 29 yard line.  But the Tigers still could not make it to the end zone giving the ball back to the Eagles at their own 24 yard line.  On a 3^rd and 7 at the Eagles 27 yard line quarterback Tanner Hall rolled to his right and threw the ball only to be intercepted again, this time by Tiger Matt Ragsdale giving the Tigers a 1^st down at the Eagle 36 yard line with 2:38 left in the half.  On a 4^th and 2 yards to go the Tigers Joe Higgerson crashed over the right side getting just enough for the Tiger 1^st down.  Eventually the Tigers made it inside the 10 yard line of the Eagles with the clock ticking down to end the quarter.  With just over 2 seconds left in the half the Tigers faced a 2^nd and goal at the Eagles 2 yard line.  But the Eagle defense held stopping the Tigers Tyler Maynard 1 yard short of the goal line with no time remaining in the half.  Dupo Tigers Coach Vernon Ferry said, “We really needed that score before the end of the half.  It would have been huge for our momentum.  If we score going in at halftime and then receive the kickoff to start the second half it could have been a different game.”

The Tigers began the opening drive of the second half from their own 40 yard line.  With the tough inside running of Joe Higgerson and Tyler Maynard the Tigers methodically made their way down the field into Eagle

territory.  The Tiger offensive line was getting the job done inside and the running game was opening up the occasional pass for the Tiger offense. Coach Ferry said, “For the first three quarters our line played excellent.  We ran our main plays, we moved the ball.  We were getting what we needed.”  After a holding penalty against the Tigers that took them from a 1^st and 10 at the Eagle 13 to a 1^st and 20 at the Eagle 23, the Tigers faced a 4^th and 9 at the Eagles 12.  Then Tigers quarterback Caleb Tatum pitched right to running back Matt Ragsdale who scampered in over the right side 12 yards for the touchdown.  Eagles Coach Scott Horner said, “Dupo is an improved team.  They’ve got a good group of kids and they know how to run that offense.  They wear you down and control the clock.”  The Tigers converted the 2 point conversion as Joe Higgerson drove in over the left side as the Tigers took the lead 8-7. That was the last the Tigers would see of the end zone.  From that point forward a combination of Kyle Breitenstein runs and receptions coupled with Tiger penalties kept the Eagles in the game.  Coach Horner said of Breitenstein, “Kyle gives us all he’s got every game.  He’s certainly the guy who’s got to make plays for us.  I can’t say enough great things about a kid who’s 160 pounds but plays like he’s 220.”  The Eagles scored again on a Tanner Hall run off right tackle from the Tiger three yard line taking back the lead 13-8 with 7:54 left in the game.  The extra point attempt failed.  After an excellent Tanner Hall kickoff the Tigers started their next drive from their own 5 yard line.  After an illegal procedure call the Tigers faced 2^nd and 13 from their own 3 yard line.  After another good run on 3^rd and 12 by the Tigers’ Matt Ragsdale, the Tigers drew another personal foul forcing them to punt on 4^th down.  The Eagles took possession at the Tiger 41 yard line with 6:41 left in the game.  After a good gain by the Eagles’ Clayton Revelle the Tigers were slapped with another personal foul giving the Eagles a 1^st and 10 at the Tiger 18 yard line.  On a 3^rd and 2 at the Tiger 10 yard line the Eagles fumbled the ball only to have it roll into the end zone and be covered by Eagle offensive lineman Ty Warren for the touchdown.  Tanner Hall kicked the extra point and the Eagles now led 20-8 with 4:47 left in the game. The Tigers last gasp was on a 4^th and 13 at the Eagle 21 with 1:19 left in the game as Tigers quarterback Caleb Tatum was sacked as he rolled out to pass.  With that the Eagles took over and ran out the clock to complete the victory.

Statistically it was an interesting game because the Tigers held a significant edge in Time of Possession with 27:16 to the Eagles 19:44. The Tigers were +3 in turnovers. And with the exception of one drive the Tigers maintained excellent field position most of the game.  Perhaps the most telling statistic was penalties where the Eagles were penalized once for 10 yards while the Tigers were penalized 8 times for 75 yards.  When asked if the rash of personal foul penalties were associated to a lack of discipline on the Tigers’ part Coach Vernon Ferry responded, “One of them was. This isn’t soccer, it’s football. Three of those personal fouls were inexcusable.  Unbelievable.”  But the Eagles made plays when they needed to and performed well for a team that has been battling injuries for a few weeks now.  Eagles coach Scott Horner said, “It wasn’t exactly the way we drew it up, but the important thing is that our kids found a way to win.”  Coach Ferry added, “They’ve got a very good program here at Columbia.  We’re trying to get ours back to that level.”

September 12, 2009

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