LOUISIANA – Louisiana Coach Joe Calhoun says the shortage of troops is making the season especially difficult as the Bulldogs fell to Schuyler County on Friday night, 50-20.
The match was the KJFM Eagle 102 Game of the Week and featured streaming video that is archived at www.kjfmeagle102.net.
With injuries the Bulldogs are down to just 12 players after last week’s game. Calhoun noted it has been a struggle.
“We’ve had a few good moments but, obviously, it’s not enough.”
He added the boys have given everything that they have and that’s all he can ask of them.
Louisiana was pounded by a relentless ground attack from Schuyler County, turning a tie game at halftime into a 50-20 loss on Friday. After winning the coin flip and deferring to the second half kick, the Bulldog defense forced a punt, stopping a pair of running plays and forcing an incomplete pass on third and long.
The punt was returned by Cody Love inside the 20-yard line to the 19, then Cameron Henderson ran the option down to the four yard line for a first and goal for the Bulldogs. They took a penalty, but wouldn’t be denied as Devin Cropp took the next snap nine yards to cross the goal line for an early lead. Love added the two point conversion for an 8-0 lead after just two offensive plays and 2:46 gone in the first quarter.
The teams traded possessions through most of the quarter before running back Wade Cooper scored his own nine yard touchdown with 2:43 left in the quarter to bring the Rams within two points. Schuyler County failed on their two point try and still trailed the Bulldogs by an 8-6 score.
Louisiana was able to stretch the lead back to eight points late in the quarter. Jordan Luck camped under a tipped pass and intercepted Gavin Veatch, returning the ball inside the Rams five yard line. Cropp punched it in the end zone with 5.7 seconds left in the quarter for a 14-6 lead after a failed conversion attempt.
Schuyler County all but abandoned the passing game to start the second quarter, instead trying to grind down the shorthanded Bulldogs on the ground.
The Rams burned four and half minutes off the clock and tied the score when fullback Bronson Shaw scored and Cooper added the two point conversion to knot the game at 14-14.
Louisiana regained the lead quickly when Cropp crossed the thresh hold for the third time, this time on an impressive sixteen yard run for a 20-14 advantage.
A bad snap foiled the conversion attempt, so the six point lead held with 5:52 left in the half. Wade Cooper was just getting started for Schuyler County. Cooper balanced runs to the left and right, grabbing big chunks of yardage as Louisiana tried to make it to the half with the lead.
Cooper made sure that didn’t happen, scoring a 39-yard touchdown with 3:41 left to play to tie the game at 20. The Bulldogs stopped the conversion attempt but weren’t able to find a counter punch and the teams went to halftime with the score tied.
The game stayed 20-20 for the first nine minutes of the second half before the Rams took the lead for the first time on a Wade Cooper run for eleven yards. Again, the conversion failed and Louisiana trailed 26-20.
Cooper scored again in the opening moments of the fourth quarter for a 34-20 lead, the Veatch connected with Colby Frederick to stretch the score to 42-20.
Dealing with cramps in the second half, Cropp had a pair of good runs late, but it wasn’t enough to get the Bulldogs to the end zone.
Cooper scored his fifth touchdown with just over two minutes left and added another conversion to round out the scoring for Schuyler County for their first win of the year.
Devin Cropp and his three scores earned the Eagle 102 Prime Time Player.
The winless Bulldogs will host Dupo, Illinois (1-4) at Cunningham Field for homecoming on Friday.
Bowling Green lifted their record to 2-3 for the season with a 20-10 victory over South Callaway.
The Bulldogs got on the board first and led the Bobcats 7-0 after the first quarter. South Callaway tacked on a field goal early in the second quarter to take a 10-0 lead with 9:26 remaining in the half.
Nick Breakfield hit Deonta Fleming as the Bobcats lit the board before the break. With about 6:30 remaining in the quarter the Bobcats trailed 10-6 and they weren’t done.
Fleming found the endzone again with just over a minute in the half. Charlie Bowen scored the two-point conversion as Bowling Green took the lead, 14-10.
There was no scoring in the third quarter. Lane Parker scored with about 7:30 in the fourth. The point after was no good and the Bobcats claimed a 20-10 advantage.
Bowling Green took a knee on the one yard line with a minute to go to end the game and claim the win.
The Bobcats will host North Callaway this Friday in a tilt that will be the featured Eagle 102 Game of the Week. The game will have streaming video available online at www.kjfmeagle102.net. North Callaway is coming off a 60-20 victory over Van-Far/Community R-VI last Friday and is 3-2 for the season.
Clopton-Elsberry was edged by Wright City on Friday, 20-14.
The IndianHawks led after the first quarter 7-0. The Wildcats returned fire with 12 points in the second quarter to lead 12-7 at halftime. Clopton-Elsberry added another touchdown in the third but Wright City tacked on eight points in the final frame to pick up the win.
Quarterback Shawn Yates was 10-24 passing for 106 yards, including a touchdown pass to Kyle Martin. Yates also had 12 carries for 60 yards and a TD.
Maleek McPike also completed a pass for 31 yards and had a catch for seven yards.
Martin had seven receptions for 103 yards including a touchdown.
Zakk Eivins had five carries and two receptions. Jake Rimel rushed eight times and had one catch.
Eivins led the defensive effort with 11 tackles. Maleek McPike and Colby Twellman each had 10 tackles. Martin and Riley Walker each contributed nine tackles.
The IndianHawks are now 2-3 for the season and will look to defeat South Callaway (1-4) at home this Friday.
The Van-Far/Community R-VI Indians fell to (3-2) North Callaway 60-20 last Friday. The team will travel to Mark Twain this Friday.
On the other side of the river, the Pleasant Hill/Western Wolves came within one point of breaking a winless streak this season. The Wolves fell 31-30 to Calhoun/Brussels.
The Wolves led 8-0 after the first quarter. Calhoun outscored Pleasant Hill/Western 12-6 in the second quarter. The Wolves gained the edge with an 8-6 third quarter but were outscored 13-8 in the final frame.
The Wolves will travel to Greenfield this Friday with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.
The Pittsfield/Griggsville-Perry Saukees were blanked by New Berlin/Franklin/Waverly, 35-0, last Friday. The Saukees will host Athens this week with kickoff at 7 p.m.
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