San Tan Youth Football League Eagles

E-A-G-L-E-S… EAGLES!! The Mighty Might Eagles were indeed mighty this morning as they thoroughly dominated the Bulldogs 12-0 at Queen Creek Middle School. The birds in black were sharp from the get go as they took the field and manhandled the undermanned Bulldogs.

Dakota Neer got the party started with two touchdown runs in the first half and the Eagles defense played absolutely terrific as the Bulldogs struggled to get anything going on either side of the ball. Had it not been for a few uncharacteristic mental mistakes, the Eagles might have put this one to bed before halftime. Nevertheless, the half ended with the Eagles up 12-0.

The Bulldogs received the ball to start the second half and were once again stifled by the Eagles swarming defense. The Eagles almost got the ball back at midfield as Drew Ball made a tackle and stripped the ball from the Bulldog running back, but the referees ruled that the player was down and thus whistled the play dead before the strip occurred. in the end, it didn’t make much of a difference as the Eagles regained possession a couple of plays later.

On their first drive of the second half, Tony Saba had an outstanding run as he raced to the sideline and deftly cut up the field and into the open for a 50 yard touchdown run. Unfortunately, the play was nullified by a holding penalty and the Eagles were backed up first and twenty on their own 40 yard line. On the next play from scrimmage, Mr. Saba put the Eagles back in business with a 25 yard run that set the Eagles up with a first down. However, the Eagles were unable to punch the ball in and gave the ball back to the Bulldogs deep in their own territory.

The Eagles defense once again asserted it’s dominance as they stuffed the Bulldogs repeated attempts to get their ground game going. I guess they were thinking “maybe we should go to the air”… they should have thought again. The Bulldogs dropped back and launched a pass toward an open receiver when Wyatt “aka. Ballhawk” Harris swooped in and plucked the ball out of the air for his second interception of the season.

The Eagles gracefully ran the ball out and called on it’s reserves to preserve the win. Overall, this was a fantastic game for the Eagles. The defense was incredible and the offense was productive despite some uncharacteristic penalties. More importantly, EVERY kid got to play in both halves.

The fifth quarter brought more cheers and good fortune for the Eagles squad as the defense led by Trent Hatch led an incredible goal line stand to thwart the Bulldogs attempt to reach the endzone. On their first and only offensive possession of the 5th quarter, Javin Wright broke off an impressive run as he ran over several Bulldogs defenders and outran the rest as he galloped for a 60 yard touchdown.

In my opinion, the coaches have done a very good job shuffling kids into the rotation so far this season. Having spent time on the sidelines during the games tracking player participation, I can say that it’s incredibly chaotic at times. The coaches are continuously communicating with me to see who has or hasn’t played and finding ways to bring some of the less experienced players into the game.

I realize it’s frustrating for some of the parents whose kids don’t see as much action during the first four quarters. I was in your shoes last season when the fifth quarter didn’t exist. All I can say, is that you can rest assured that our coaches are as much or more cognizant of player participation than any other club in this league. Other clubs have kids that don’t play at all until the 5th quarter. At any rate, it was good to see everyone get as much action as they did in today’s game.

The Eagles have a bye week this week and will practice on Monday and Wednesday at Desert Mountain Park as usual.