| EISENHOWER CLINCHES DISTRICT 10 CLASS A PLAYOFFS |
| OCT. 25 WEEK NINE - Eisenhower 22, Cameron County 14 |
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The Following story was first published in the Sunday Sept. 8 edition of the Tri-County Sunday out of DuBois. The story has been reprinted with permission. Please visit the Tri-County Sunday/DuBois Courier-Express website at www.thecourierexpress.com for more information on the newspaper. By Pat Lewis RUSSELL – It was a great evening for football … if you happen to be a Canadian Goose. On a night that was better suited for indoor sports, numerous hearty fans from both Cameron County and Eisenhower chose to brave the weather and support their high school football teams. Sheets of rain fueled by strong winds blasted across the field as the Eisenhower Knights upended the Cameron County Red Raiders 22-14. With the win, Eisenhower has secured a spot in the District 10 Class A playoffs. Eisenhower wasted little time registering their first score. On the second play from scrimmage, Knight quarterback Jacoby Curtis chose to keep the ball on a quarterback option around the left side from the 18-yard line. After slipping through and opening, Curtis raced 78 yards before being brought down on a shoestring tackle by Raider defensive back Adam Kesterholt at the 4-yard line. On the very next play, halfback Tyler Cathcart raced into the end zone to give the Knights an early 6-0 lead. Jason Passinger kicked the extra point to up the score to 7-0. Later in the first quarter, the Red Raiders answered back. Starting at its 47-yard line, Cameron County used a seven-play drive to register points on the scoreboard. With runs by Kyle Vogt, Scott Aikens and Kesterholt along with pass completions to Jonny Songer and Ryan Stuart, the Raiders methodically moved the ball to the Eisenhower 4-yard line. Ryan Clingan then got the call and plowed in from the 4-yard line. Quarterback Kyle Vogt hooked up with Kesterholt on a quick pass for the two-point conversion to give the Raiders their only lead of the game, 8-7. As the game went on, the field conditions began to play an increasing role in the outcome of the game. Four fumbles, an interception and two missed field goals all took place in the second quarter. But neither team could capitalize on the miscues to produce points until the quarter was almost over. The turning point of the game came with only 16 seconds left to play in the half. With Cameron County facing a fourth-and-10 at its19-yard line, Eisenhower lineman Collin McHenry crashed through the line and blocked the Raider punt that ricochet into the end zone. Bart Moon pounced on the loose ball for the touchdown. Moon then received the conversion pass from Curtis to give the Knights the lead, 15-8, along with the momentum before half. "That blocked punt before half gave us a lot of momentum," Eisenhower coach Drew Seaman said. "It was so tough running an offense in slop like that. But the block and recovery were huge." On Cameron County’s first possession of the second half, the Raiders struck back and cut the lead to 15-14. Facing a second down-and-long at its 36-yard line, quarterback Kyle Vogt called his own number. Looking like a ball in a hyperactive pinball machine, Vogt bounced off of numerous Eisenhower defenders before racing 64 yards and winding up in the end zone. A two-point conversion pass failed keeping the score at 15-14 in favor of the Knights. The final score of the game came late in the game after Knight defensive back Tyler Cathcart picked off a pass setting up a 1-yard plunge by Eric Sirianni. Passinger’s extra point finalized the scoring at 22-14. The Red Raiders finished the season at 3-6. Eisenhower (6-3) will
continue play next week in the District 10 playoffs against Sagerstown. Cameron County 14 Eisenhower 22 |