Prep Football: Eldorado storms past Carmi-White County
By Michael Dann
mdann@dailyregsiter.com
ELDORADO -  After what Eldorado head coach Joe Clark called a punch in the gut - the Eagles' 22-14 loss to Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn last week - he was anticipating how his team would respond to Carmi-White County Friday at Boz Adams Field.
The first year EHS head coach probably wasn't shocked to see his team exchange some blows, scoring on their first possession and later delivering the knockout blow in a 38-14 Black Diamond Conference win over the Bulldogs.
"We bounced back and showed a lot of character," Clark said. "The kids believed in what we were doing and we had a great week of practice. We had the correct mindset after getting punched in the stomach last week (at Sesser-Valier) and we just came out with our hair on fire and competed. That's it. It was nothing I did, I can assure you of that. The kids got this win and I'm proud of them."
Senior quarter Kale Oglesby got the Eagles on the board in the first quarter as Eldorado went 80 yards on eight plays when Oglesby scored on the QB keeper.
That followed an 18-play 65-yard drive by Carmi-White County where the Bulldogs used Wyatt Weinbrecht on a 1-yard run to get to within two, 8-6 following the failed two-point conversion.
From there, Eldorado would score 30 unanswered points, highlighted by a 36-yard run from Jacob Traxler in the second quarter and the recent SIU football commit then picked off CWC QB William Puglsey for a 16-yard touchdown return to give Eldorado a 24-6 halftime lead.
Dawson Metten added two second half touchdown runs, one from 20 yards out and another from three yards out as the Eagles never looked back.
Clark said the swing in momentum after Traxler's pair of touchdowns the quick start allowed his team to settle in early.
"Jacob Traxler, he'll be the first to admit he was not pleased last week, but man, SIU got a good one," Clark said. "Anytime you can get some early momentum in high school athletics, it helps, it's not everything, but if you can start fast and try to gather or maintain momentum, that goes a long way. The reality was we settled in after the first defensive drive and the offense never really flinched too much, but our kids tackled well, blocked well and played hard."
With the win, Eldorado improves to 3-1 in Black Diamond Conference play, while Carmi-White County falls to 2-2 on the season.
The upcoming slate for all BDC teams is labeled as "Rivalry Week" across the league as Eldorado will travel to Hamilton County and Carmi-White County will visit Fairfield.
NOTES: Carmi-White County came into the BDC in 2003 and now holds a 12-4 lead on Eldorado. The two teams have exchanged win in the last six meetings as Eldorado has wins in 2017, 2015 and 2013. EHS' first win against CWC came in 2012. … Eldorado holds a 14-7 advantage over Hamilton County dating back to 1996. The Eagles have not lost to the Foxes since 2009.
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Register, Eldorado Journal & The Gallatin County Democrat. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
Eldorado 08 16 08 06 - 38
Carmi-White County 00 06 00 08 - 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
ELD - Oglesby 1 run (Traxler conversion), 8:12
Second Quarter
CWC - Weinbrecht 1 run (conversion failed), 11:36
ELD - Traxler 36 run (Oglesby to Attebury conversion), 5:29
ELD - Tradler 16 interception (Roberts conversion), 2:05
Third Quarter
ELD - Metten 20 run (Oglesby to Attebury conversion), 5:51
Fourth Quarter
ELD - Metten 3 run (conversion failed), 8:17
CWC - Mills 4 run (Wheeler conversion), 23.7
Team Statistics
ELD CWC
First Downs 8 12
Rushes-Yards 32-171 51-194
Comp-Att-Int 1-2-0 2-8-1
Passing 35 24
Total Yards 206 218
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 2-15 2-25
Individual Statistics
Rushing - ELD: Traxler 10-84, Metten 12-61, Jenkins 1-5, C. Watt 3-5, Oglesby 2-7, Roberts 4-9. CWC: Weinbrecht 11-34, Yates 15-67, Northcott 4-8, Pugsley 4-(-9), Wheeler 7-46, Coleman 2-1, Digby 1-0, Mills 7-47.
Passing - ELD: Oglesby 1-2-0 35. CWC: Puglsey 2-8-1 24.
Receiving - ELD: Mayberry 1-35. CWC: Northcott 1-5, Lamp 1-19.