Eagles drop season opener to S-V-W
The wind had a chill to it.
The grass was green with a hint of brown.
Fans gathered in the stands
Friday night felt like football again - even if it's being played in the middle of March.
On the field, Sesser-Valier-Waltonville put up three first half scores and beat Eldorado 18-8 in Black Diamond Conference action.
Eldorado (0-1) head coach Joe Clark said that despite it had all the makings of an October night, the time away from the game during the global pandemic, left him feeling a little like stepping on the field for the first time Friday.
"I was more nervous than typical. You're always nervous for week one but there's just a lot of nervousness because a lot of uncertainty, but it was fun playing. Obviously we're not pleased with the result ,but it was awesome to be out here."
The Red Devils got on the board in the first quarter after Caleb Qualls hauled in a 40-yard pass from quarterback Carson Hoffard to take a quick 6-0 lead.
After that, S-V-W's Jayden Lance had a pair of rushing touchdowns, scoring from two yards out and 66 yards out, both in the second quarter as the Red Devils built a 18-0 halftime lead.
Eldorado was able to get on the board and prevent the shutdown when Parker Price found pay dirt from two yards out in the fourth quarter and finished with 71 yards.
With just six games on the modified schedule and being squeezed between a basketball and baseball season, Clark said it may feel like football, but there are still plenty of things to work on.
"Really because of the weather, it felt like a late season game. It felt awesome just playing. Unfortunately we broke down a little bit in some spots that cost us a lot. It starts as me so we'll just try to do better.
"The one thing we really do a good job with in our program is handling tough times. Things could have been better early without some mistakes. Sesser-Valier executed and did a good job, it wasn't just our pitfalls. Second half we did a better job obviously and played cleaner offensively. The defense, I thought, played pretty well all night. You got to play some complimentary football when offense plays a little better and that helps the scoreboard result obviously. Overall, when we look at the details I think we'll be pleased with where we're at. Just have to shear up some things and get better."
Eldorado will travel to Hamilton County Friday for a 7 p.m. game with the Foxes. The Eagles will open April with back-to-back Saturday games at Carmi (April 3) and at home against Christopher (April 10). The last two games of the season will be played on the road, at Edwards County and at Fairfield.
Spyder Dann covers prep and college sports for the Southern Illinois LOCAL Media Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
Eldorado 0 0 0 8 - 8
S-V-W 6 12 0 0 - 18
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
SVW - Qualls 40-yard TD catch from Hoffard, (conversion failed), 4:50
Second Quarter
SVW - Lance 2-yard run (conversion failed), 8:47
SVW - Lance 66-yard run (conversion failed), 5:22
Fourth Quarter
EHS - Price 2-yard run (Price conversion), 11:19
Team Totals
EHS SVW
Total Plays 43 56
Total Yards 133 272
Passing Yards 0 63
Receiving Yards 133 209
First Downs 8 12
3rd Down Efficiency 2-7 (29%) 3-11 (27%)
4th Down Efficiency 0-1 (0%) 2-5 (40%)
Turnovers 2 0
Fumbles Lost 1 0
Interceptions 1 0
Penalties-Yards 5-25 4-27
Individual Totals
OFFENSE
RUSHING - EHS: Price 12-71, Burtis 9-25, Henshaw 5-12, Whitlock 1-5. SVW: Hoffard 13-42, Team 30-167
PASSING - EHS: Whitlock 1-9-1 0. SVW: Hoffard 3-9-0 63.
RECEIVING - SWV: Gunter 1-3, Team 2-50.
DEFENSE
TACKLES - EHS: Price 16, Burtis 14, N. Henson 7, W. Carlile 9, C. Carlile 9, Whitlock 6, D. Henshaw 6, Farmer 4, Hopkins, Milligan 2, Cullison 5, Sisco 3.