The Eagles faced off against the Predators Saturday night in the semi-finals of the San Tan Youth Football League playoffs. Earlier in the season, the Predators were victorious over the Eagles 13-6. This game figured to be a similar dogfight as the two teams seemed evenly matched across the board.

The game didn’t turn out quite how the Eagles expected as the Predators seized momentum early in the contest as they recovered a fumble and rumbled into the endzone to take an early 7-0 lead.

The Eagles offense never seemed to get on track in the first half and suffered from some untimely mental errors that forced the team into third and fourth and long situations. The Eagles showed a ton of heart though as they turned back the Predators toward the end of the first half on a 4 down series inside the Eagles 10 yard line. The offense sputtered again though and provided the Predators with a short field on the ensuing possession. The Predators punched in another score just before halftime to take a 21-0 lead.

During halftime, the coaches implored the young Eagles to keep fighting in the second half. As a spectator, it truly felt as though the Eagles just weren’t playing “Eagle football”. There was no question that the Eagles belonged on the field this night, they simply needed to keep their chins up and keep fighting.

The Eagles played much better in the second half and did an excellent job of containing the Predator’s running attack, but the offense just couldn’t seem to catch a break. They moved the ball well, but continued to be plagued by untimely penalties and turnovers. Although the Eagles didn’t close ground on the predators in the second half, they sure showed the heart of a champion as they fought hard until the final whistle blew, signaling the bitter end to an otherwise splendid season.

After the game, the coaches had the boys take a knee in what would be their last huddle of the season and expressed their gratitude for the effort and dedication the boys put into the season. Tonight’s game indeed stung, but the Eagles truly have nothing to hang their heads about. As coach Gene said, there were 8 other teams that didn’t have a chance to play tonight. The Eagles played hard and fought valiantly as a team this season. It will be exciting to see the boys come up through the ranks together in the STYFL. I have a feeling that the Eagles have alot of wins and opportunities to redeem tonight’s loss in the season’s to come.

This was indeed a special team… coaches, players, and families all. Good night young Eagles…. you’ve made us all mighty proud.

The Eagles picked up where they left off last week and took it to the Miners again today in the quarterfinal round of the STYFL playoffs at Prospector Park in Apache Junction. The kids from Queen Creek were sharp on both sides of the ball as they dominated the Miners from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.

Before the game began, both teams gathered in prayer at mid-field as Coach Gene led a prayer for Kellie Ardans (see photo). The game was dedicated to Kellie’s memory and will forever be remembered for all those in attendance as a heartfelt moment of community and compassion.

The Eagles came out firing to open the ball game. Led by quarterback Reed Erwin, running backs Dakota Neer, Walker Pattyson and Bradley Beaver, and a stout offensive line led by Maison Ardans, the Eagles offense was simply unstoppable. The Eagles led the game 21-0 heading into halftime. For all intents and purposes, the second half was merely a formality.

The Eagles defense was also stellar in this contest, pitching yet another shutout against a playoff quality opponent. The Eagles “Gang Green” defense was all over the field, gang tackling Miner running backs play in and play out. Trevor Caron pitched in one for the highlight reel as he picked off an errant pass from the Miners quarterback and if it weren’t for a shoestring tackle by a desperate Trevor would have recorded the Eagles first “pick 6″ on the season.

Running backs Dakota Neer (3 tds, Walker Pattyson (1 td) and Bradley Beaver (1 td) danced their way into the end zone seemingly at will. Sam Oram and Maison Ardans bullied their way into the end zone as well on successful extra point trys.

The Eagles will face off against the Predators this evening, who took care of business against the Cougars this afternoon. The Eagles (8-1) will attempt to avenge their lone loss of the season (13-7) in tonight’s semi-final matchup at 8pm at Prospector Park in Apache Junction.

Assuming we win our rematch with the Miners and the Predators get past the Cougars… the Eagles will have a chance at payback against the Predators. The first game was a physical one, but the Eagles were not at full strength (Chris Galloway) and suffered injuries to some key players during the game (Pattyson, Neer, Erwin). The rematch will be hard fought, but me thinks the Birds will answer the bell and redeem the lone blemish on their otherwise perfect record. But hey… prediction day is Friday!

Given the first game is at 2pm and barring the unthinkable, the second game is at 8pm… it leaves an approximate 3 hour window between the end of game 1 and the warmups for game 2. It’s unconfirmed, but there is a rumor that there will be a tailgate party from approximately 4pm to 7pm between the games. Would be fun… check back later in the week.

There was one contest on the slate that had heavy playoff implications as the Cougars from Maricopa squared off against the Tempe Buffaloes. With the win, the Cougars moved to 3-5 and grabbed the 7th seed. The Cardinals benefited from the Buffaloes loss and nabbed the 8th seed and the right to play the Rams next Saturday in the quarter-finals.

Scores from around the league:

Predators 46, Bulldogs 14
Rattlers 13, Cardinals 0
Eagles 18, Miners 0
Rams 23, Vipers 13
Cougars 24, Buffaloes 0
Diablos 24, Pirates 0

Final Regular Season Standings & Playoff Seedings

Stay tuned later this week for game times and location. Should the Eagles (7-1) beat the Miners (4-4), they will likely face the Predators (7-1) in the Semi-finals for the right to play in the League Championship on Saturday, November 10.