San Tan Youth Football League Eagles

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.