by North Olmsted. OH – It wasn’t pretty at times in the first half, but the comeback Eagles did it again! After falling behind 17-7 in the first half to Buckeye, the Eagles soared back for a 23-17 victory. It is the second straight week for the comeback Eagles as they improved their overall record to 3-1, and opened up their GLC season with a win as well.
Quarterback Xavier Balson battled cramps all night, but still managed to finish with a very respectable 103 yards in the air, and he also ran for 61 yards on the ground. Speaking of the ground game, it was Bryson Burgess absolutely stealing the show tonight as he finished with 105-yards rushing on 17 carries with 2 touchdowns. Burgess also had 3 catches 45 yards.
Jared Kelley did a little of everything tonight on all sides of the ball. Kelley began the game with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He also had nearly 80 yards combined with catching and running the ball. Perhaps his best play on the night came at the end with a beautiful wrap up tackle to stop a late drive attempt for the Bucks and seal the win.
To the credit of the Bucks, they had moments were their run game looked unstoppable, but the Eagles made the adjustments to eventually shut it down. For the Bucks, it was Ben Barnes rushing for 91 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Kaymen Marshall was a speed demon out there tonight, and did it all. Marshall would finish with 62 yards on the ground and also 67 yards receiving. He also had an interception on defense.
The game started with a thrill for the Eagles as Jared Kelley took the opening kick 93 yards to the house. A few moments later however, it was Kelley fumbling a Buckeye punt inside of his own 30-yard line that allowed the Bucks to set up shop. The Bucks would drive for a little bit, but would settle for a 28 yard Field goal from Ben Barnes to make it 7-3 in what was a wild first 7 minutes.
On their first offensive drive of the game, the Eagles were moving the ball into Buckeye territory when the turnover bug snuck up and bit them again. This time with a Sammy Capps fumble. Buckeye wasted no time striking as on the very next play, it was Jaden May hitting Kaymen Marshall in stride for a 61-yard touchdown over the middle. This gave the Bucks their first lead of the game at 10-7 with 3:30 to go in the first quarter.
Another Eagle possession was snuffed out with their third turnover of the first quarter. This time it was a 40-yard launch from Balson that was picked off by a leaping Kaymen Marshall. The Bucks with all the momentum on their side went back to work with Marshall again as he tore off a 23-yard run to leap into the redzone. A few moments later it was Ben Barnes taking it the rest of the way to make it 17-7. The Bucks put up 17 points on 3 turnovers.
Late in the first half with the Bucks driving again, this time the fumble bug would strike them. A bad snap led to a fumble as the Bucks had reached the Eagle 31-yard line with 2:02 to go. Balson would hit a streaking Jared Kelly for 38 yards. On the next play, it was Balson with his legs taking off for 10 more to get the Eagles cooking. A few moments later it was Bryson Burgess rumbling in to make it 17-14 as we went to the half. All in all, the first half saw 4 turnovers combined, with 24 points resulting from them.
Nearly the entire third quarter would go by without points until Bryson Burgess capped off a 73-yard drive with a touchdown rumble. It was a gutsy call on fourth down that kept the drive alive at one point as backup quarterback Dominic Costello checked in for a moment and hit Elijah Maldonado for 24 yards to keep the drive alive. The Eagles botched the extra point however, keeping the lead at 20-17.
With 4:10 to go, it was a 34-yard field goal by Gannon Graf to move the lead to 23-17. In a move I cannot wrap my head around, on 3rd down, there was a crystal-clear pass interference call on Buckeye that the official threw the flag on. Then, for whatever reason, decided to pick up the flag when Burgess caught the ball. The Eagles had to settle for a field goal instead of the drive getting at least one more play.
The game would end by that same score of 23-17.
Player of the game – Bryson Burgess finished with 105-yards rushing on 17 carries with 2 touchdowns. Burgess also had 3 catches 45 yards.
ALSO HELPS THE EAGLES HAD THE CUTEST LIL CHEERLEADER!