Rusk Eagles; season to date recap: Rusk Eagles prepare to host the Bullard Pathers

The Rusk Eagles went into their bye week with a 0-6 season record, ranked 52 on the Texas Division 4A-2 with a strength rating of 22.8. The Eagles have shown themselves to be a first half team this season, scoring an average of 15.7 points in the first two quarters, compared to just 7.6 in the final half. Connor Ellis, Jaylon Hall, Semaj Johnson and Bryce Driver have been forces to contend with, each consistently making big plays.
Rusk will take on the 2-5 Bullard Panthers at Eagle Stadium this Friday. The Panthers average 28.1 points per game, averaging between five to nine points per quarter. So far this season, the Panthers have not won an away game.

The Eagles began their 2018 season on Aug. 31 in Fairfield in a game that was dubbed the ‘Battle of the Eagles’. Rusk dominated the first quarter of the game and they went into half time in the lead with a score of 20-8. However, Fairfield came out strong in the second half, and accumulated 28 points compared to Rusk’s eight resulting in a final game score of 36-28 and a Fairfield win.
Notable plays:

In the first quarter, Caleb McNair recovered a Fairfield fumble and completed a 75-yard touchdown. In the second quarter a 35-yard touchdown pass from Dequann McWilliams to Johnny Perez secured another six points for the Eagles and pushed them into the lead. In the final minutes of the first half a 46-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Francis put the Eagles in a 12-point lead going into halftime. The Eagles recovered a Fairfield fumble early in the third quarter, but were unable to turn it into scoring play. In the fourth quarter, the Eagles once again recovered a Fairfield fumble and they were able to move it down field and into the end zone, followed by a successful two point conversion by Ellis.

In week two, the Eagles played at home against the Athens Hornets with the Hornets winning by one point in the final quarter.

Although the Hornets jumped out early in the first quarter with a touchdown, the Eagles met them play for play and pulled ahead by two points, ending the first quarter with a score of 16-14. The Eagles defensive line proved they were a force to be reckoned with as they prevented the Hornets from gaining another point until the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, the Hornets accumulated 21 points in the final quarter of the game and pulled ahead, ending the game with a score of 35-34 in favor of Athens.

Notable plays:

Semaj Johnson scored the first Eagle touchdown of the game with a 70-yard kick return, followed by a successful two point conversion by Tevin Taylor. Joseph Francis pulled the Eagles into the lead at the end of the first quarter with a 13-yard rushing touchdown followed by a two point conversion. In the second quarter, Ellis completed a 42-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, a play that gave Rusk an eight point lead over Athens. In the final minutes of the third quarter, Rusk once again found themselves in the end zone as Francis completed a 76-yard touchdown run. With three minutes left in the game, Francis scored the final touchdown for Rusk, giving them a score of 34 points

Week three had the Eagles traveling to Palestine to take on the Wildcats in another closely scoring game. The Eagles went into halftime with a four point lead over the Wildcats, but were unable to maintain their momentum in the second half leading to a three point fall to the consistently scoring Wildcats. The final game score was 29-26, Athens win.

Notable plays:

Ellis completed a rushing touchdown early in the second quarter and then completed a 64-yard touchdown pass in the final three minutes of the half, securing an Eagle lead going into halftime. In the third quarter, Byron Johnson completed a 59-yard rushing touchdown followed by a successful two point conversion by Ellis.
In week four the Eagles hosted the Spring Hill Panthers. As in previous weeks, the Eagles held the lead going into halftime, but were unable to maintain momentum in the second half of the game, falling to the Panthers by three points with a final game score of 19-16.

Notable plays:

Byron Johnson completed a two point conversion following a Rusk touchdown, to pull ahead of the Panthers by five points. In the second quarter, Jaylon Hall completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Joseph McGowan and then followed up with a successful two point conversion.

Week five saw the largest points gap and loss for the Eagles when then fell to the Henderson Lions 42-12. The Lions defensive line held the Eagles to just 12 points scored in the third quarter as their offensive line racked up the points in the first through third quarters. Neither team was able to complete a scoring play in the fourth quarter.

In week six the Eagles suffered another 20 plus point loss, this time to the Pittsburg Pirates, with a game ending score of 53-24. The Eagles were behind just one point going into the halftime, after leading the first quarter, but the Pirates crossed the plane several times in the second half, amassing 34 points in the third and fourth quarters.

Notable plays:

Although a non-scoring play, Jaylon Hall completed a long pass to Bryce Driver allowing the Eagles to get within 20 yards of the end zone. In just a few plays, Tyrell Morrison completed a rushing touchdown, adding the first points to the scoreboard in the first quarter. The Eagles went on to score two more touchdowns in the first quarter; Hall with a 16-yard rush and Morrison with a 80-yard rush, and Rusk went into the second quarter with a 11 point lead. In the third quarter McGowan completed a long kickoff return followed by a touchdown by Hall.