San Tan Youth Football League Eagles

The unbeaten Eagles (2-0) took the field this Saturday to face the once beaten Special Forces (1-1) in what figured to be a great game between two of the elite teams in the STYFL Jr. Pee Wee Division.  Coming off a 19-0 loss to the Rams the previous weekend, the Special Forces needed to win this game to pull even with the Eagles for second place in the division.  The Eagles were plenty motivated themselves coming off a 13-12 overtime win last week over the Cardinals.

The Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched down the field against a stout Special Forces defense led by starting MLB Sam Orem.  The yards didn’t come easy, but the Eagles found a way to move the chains with tough runs by Parker Holland, Brad Beaver, and Anthony Saba.  The Eagles eventually moved the ball into the red zone, but an untimely holding call forced a long down and distance situation for the Eagles which ultimately stalled the drive.  The Eagles gave up the ball on downs as Coach Matt and vaunted “Black Defense” took the field.

The Eagles defense was sharp in the early going and stymied the Special Forces, forcing a punt and regaining possession in Special Forces territory.  The Eagles moved the ball effectively on the ground again gaining a first down and approaching the red zone.  The Eagles seemed to have the Special Forces on their heels as they fired off the line of scrimmage and ran downhill effectively as the first quarter came to an end.

To this point in the game, the Eagles had mostly run sweeps and counters in the running game.  It was clear that the Special Forces were selling out in pursuing the ball and playing the edges aggressively.  It was especially clear to Coach Jason who called a perfect play to counteract the Special Forces over-pursuing defense when he dialed Anthony Saba’s number on a perfectly executed reverse.  Anthony got the corner and outraced the Special Forces defenders for the game first score.  The extra point attempt failed, but the Eagles seized the lead (6-0) and the momentum in the game.   The Forces offense showed some spark gaining a first down on their next possession, but the Eagles defense prevailed as the first half drew to a close.

The third quarter of the game was a battle of the defenses.  Both teams were held scoreless and had little success moving the ball.  The Forces had kicked off to start the second half and maintained a field possession advantage throughout the second half as the defenses continued to trade blows. The big play of the quarter was a nice interception by Parker Holland to regain possession of the ball, but the Eagles offense was unable to take advantage of the turnover offensively.

The beginning of the fourth quarter had a similar flavor, but the field possession advantage was tilting even more in the Forces direction.  With time running out in the 4th quarter, the Forces finally broke a running play and the Eagles hearts with a last minute score to tie the ball game at six.  With such little time left, the Eagles would need to stop the extra point attempt and force overtime for the second week in a row.  They did just that as the sideline erupted in celebration.

The Special Forces won the toss and elected to go on defense to begin the overtime period.   On third and short the fleet foot Parker Holland took a pitch to the outside and danced his way into the end zone for the go ahead score.  The extra point attempt failed as the Special Forces made a great play defensively to stop the Eagles short of the endzone.  All the Eagles needed was a stop and the ballgame was theirs for the taking.  The Special Forces had other ideas.  On their possession, the Forces lined up in a trips right formation and the quarterback rolled out to the right and found a receiver open in the endzone to tie the game at 12 apiece.  The Eagles faced a do or die situation again on the extra point.  The Eagles D “did” and off to a second overtime we went.

In the second overtime, the Special Forces started on offense and lined up in the same “trips right” formation.  This time the Eagles overloaded to the strong side to address the formation and defend against the pass play that led to the previous touchdown. This time the Special Forces ran a counter play to the weak side as Pearson ran to daylight and into the endzone for the winning score.

All in all, it was a well played game on both sides of the ball.  It was a heart breaker for the Eagles… just one of those games where both teams deserved to win, but the Eagles will bounce back and will see the Special Forces again for the last regular season contest of the season.