Eagles sink talons into Panthers

Despite the rain at Swink Stadium, the Rusk Eagles and their fans held fast and secured their first win of the season Friday night against the Bullard Panthers.

The Eagles came out strong in the first half of the game, both offensively and defensively, scoring three touchdowns while holding the Panthers at zero.

In the first few minutes of the first quarter, Jaylon Hall completed a 36 yard rushing touchdown, followed by a successful point after by Jermaine Lewis. This play seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game as the Eagles kept finding their way into the end zone.

Bullard attempted to inch their way down the field, but lost possession on downs and following a sack by Lewis.

Although the ball changed possession due to downs over the next several plays and an Eagles interception by Connor Ellis, it wouldn’t be until the last minute of the quarter that the Eagles scored again.

With seconds on the board, Hall threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Tyrell Morrisson, followed by a successful PAT by Lewis, ending the first quarter with a score of 14-0, Eagles lead.

The second quarter began with Bullard in possession of the ball on their own 37 yard line. The Panthers were able to secure a first down prior to an intercepted pass by Ladarian Polk and possession turnover to the Eagles.

Unfortunately, the Eagles were unable to complete downs and the Panthers regained possession. During the next several minutes of play, the Eagle defense pounded the Panther offense with three tackles resulting in a loss; two by Bryce Driver and one by Byron Johnson.

With just four minutes left in the first half, Bullard turned over possession on downs and Rusk once again made their way into the end zone with a 61-yard rushing touchdown by Johnson.

Lewis completed a successful PAT.

Bullard was able to move the ball down to the Rusk 38 yard line before a tackle by Sean Rogers resulted in a loss and subsequent turnover on downs with less than a minute left of game play in the first half.

The Eagles went into halftime with a 21 point lead over the Panthers.

At the top of the third quarter, Rusk kicked off to Bullard and the Panthers gained possession of the ball on their own 38 yard line. A long pass on the next play placed the Panthers in the red zone, allowing them to complete their first touchdown of the night. A blocked point after brought the score to 21-6, Eagles lead with 11 minutes left in the third quarter.

Following a Bullard kickoff to Rusk, the Eagles gained possession of the ball on their own 48 yard line, but didn’t hesitate in moving the ball quickly down field. Thanks to a long run by Johnson, the Eagles landed in the red zone.

Just a few plays later, Rusk scored their fourth touchdown of the night with a seven yard rush by Johnson, followed by a PAT by Lewis.

With six minutes left in the third quarter, Lewis recovered a Bullard fumble, giving the Eagles possession of the ball once more. Morrisson completed two long runs and moved the ball to Bullard’s 12 yard line, setting the Eagles up for another chance to cross the plane.

And cross the plain they did, as Hall completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Johnson. A successful PAT by Lewis brought the score to 35-6 as the third quarter came to an end.

Polk started the fourth quarter off with a bang, completing a 75-yard return and adding another Eagle touchdown to the scoreboard. The PAT was good.

With five minutes left in the game, Rylan Reynolds blocked Bullard’s punt, giving the Eagles possession of the ball on the Panther 30 yard line.

A 30-yard rushing touchdown by Morrison and successful PAT by Lewis left Rusk showing 49 points on the scoreboard.

With less than a minute left in the game, Bullard completed a one yard punt return for a touchdown, but a failed two point conversion ended the game with Rusk showing a 37 point lead over the Panthers.

The Eagles will travel to Brownsboro this Friday to take on the 2-6 Bears. The teams are pretty evenly matched when it comes to numbers. The 1-6 Eagles are ranked 47 in the state division compared to the Bears coming in at 46. Both teams have one district win under their belts going into Friday’s game as well.

When it comes to scoring averages, Brownsboro is just slightly ahead with a game average of 34 points to Rusk’s 27 points.