Prep Football: Defense Answers Call

It may not still have the same sting as it did three years ago, but Eldorado dug deep into an old wound to spark some motivation Friday night.

Referencing a 59-0 loss the current Eagle crop of seniors had as freshmen when they played at Hamilton County was used as fuel for Eldorado's 48-8 win over the Foxes on Rivalry Week and Homecoming at Boz Adams Field.

It was a night where EHS head coach Brandon Hampton was almost as impressed with the crowd turnout as he was with his squads' performance.

"Anytime you can win a Homecoming game it's extremely special from your program, your players, your fans, your school and your town. I was proud of the effort our guys gave, to come out and play that way against our rival.

Hamilton County is on some downtimes right now, but they played hard. Anytime you can get after the guys in green and white, it's fun to do."

It was a night when Eldorado unveiled a new inflatable helmet to run out of. This was before they inflated the score.

The Eagles scored five times in the first half, four of which came on the ground and two of which came off Hamilton County interceptions.

Braxton Roberts got the Eagles on the board in the first quarter, punching one in from four yards out and following Eli Lueke's first interception, Nathan Burnett scored on the quarterback keeper from one yard out as Eldorado took a quick 16-0 lead.

Following Lueke's second pick on the Foxes next possession, Drew Woolcott scored from 28 yards outs. Following Roberts' scored TD score of the game from 11 yards out with 1:20 left in the first half, Eldorado forced Hamilton County to punt and with less 45 seconds to go on their own 15 yard line, Burnett and the Eagles orchestrated a drive that ended with the senior QB hooking up with Woolcott on a 36-yard pass play as time expired to give Eldorado a 40-0 first half lead.

"I like how this football team prepares," Hampton said. "They're focused, they work hard and it shows early when they came out and played like they did (Friday). They did, what I thought, you're supposed to do when you go up against a team you can beat. We got after Hamilton County early and took all doubt away. We played clean in the turnover and penalty area of the game. I thought our defense, again, made strides to keep improving.

"It's scary to think how young we are defensively and the strides we have made. I'm excited about the way the entire program was able to get in the game and contribute with this big win. It was a fun night all the way around."

Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.

Hamilton County 00 00 00 08 - 08

Eldorado 08 32 08 00 - 48

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

ELD - Roberts 4 run (Roberts conversion), 7:15

Second Quarter

ELD - Burnett 1 run (Burnet to Hathaway conversion), 9:33

ELD - Woolcott 28 run (Burnet to Kaiser conversion), 6:46

ELD - Roberts 11 run (Woolcott conversion), 1:30

ELD - Burnett 36 pass to Woolcott (Roberts conversion), 0:00

Third Quarter

ELD - Kanady 7 run (Ninness conversion), :52

Fourth Quarter

HCHS - Mauser 25 run (Chapman conversion), 7:23

Team Statistics

HCHS ELD

First Downs 5 13

Rushes-Yards 29-131 46-362

Comp-Att-Int 1-6-2 2-3-0

Passing Yards 3 66

Total Yards 134 428

Penalties-Yards 2-10 3-30

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: HCHS - Chapman 17-90, Pike 1-4, Lueke 6-6, Stover 3-20, Mauser 2-11. ELD - Price 6-56, Roberts 11-58, Woolcott 5-60, Kanady 7-96, Molinarolo 8-51, Burnett 2-13, Traxler 2-8.

PASSING: HCHS - Lueke 1-6-2 3. ELD - Burnett 2-3-0 66.

RECEIVING: HCHS - Stover 1-3. ELD - Kaiser 1-30, Woolcott 1-36.