11/15 Eagle Report
Sullivan Eagles football was riding high going into the Class 4 District 2 Championship Game this past Friday evening, and rightly so. Wins weren’t hard to find and team play was finding good consistency. Coach Eddie Haar’s squad had rattled off four straight wins going into the contest, including a convincing 30-7 win over Union, their second of the season over the Wildcats.
Sullivan’s offensive attack has many pieces, but it’s been headed by senior running back No. 27 Franky Erxleben. Franky has been the subject of many coaches’ video studies over the past several weeks, with their teams having varied degrees of success in stopping the talented rusher.
Whether it’s Seth Valley pulling down an impossible prayer out of the sky, or Colton Brendel going full extension for a game-changing play, the weapons to help relieve the pressure off of Franky have been bountiful. Hard rushing efforts of Dominic Ransom, Dayton Skaggs and Chase Blue were always instrumental in helping propel the Eagles to victory as well.
All of these ingredients were ready and available on Friday, but as Coah Haar would go on to say at halftime on KTUI radio, the Eagles played their “worst half of the season” in a moment where everything was on the line.
An early touchdown had Sullivan fans feeling like this game would go like many they’d seen this season, but early scoring was met by tough interior line play from the Pacific Indian defense. Pacific quarterback Seth Stack would start the game strong passing, and was assisted in his efforts by the hard rushing efforts of Raidon Fowler. Fowler was at nearly 100 yards by the end of the first half, while Erxleben hadn’t broke 30 by the half. It was a well-rounded Pacific defensive effort that allowed them to control the game up to that point.
Sullivan was however able to make a strong comeback push that led to them getting back into the game, after a fourth quarter touchdown had them knocking on the door at 21-20, with the extra point pending. With football being such a game of inches, it was a blocked extra point that doomed the Eagles from being able to claim a District title.
Sullivan’s season has been incredibly close with regard to their successes and drawbacks. The finish against Hermann was one that felt like a win was snatched away at the end, one that stung the team but was responded to well at the time. Where many teams would have caved to frustration, this team was able to rally together and be one of the strongest football teams in the state of Missouri.
It will always be sad to see the seniors move along, but it will be exciting to see where their talents take them into the next phase of their lives. Bobby D, the Voice of the Sullivan Eagles, has a segment on his sports show in which he follows a lot of the former athletes, so be sure to tune in to KTUI to keep up on former Eagles and what they’re doing now.