Sullivan Advances To First Semifinals In 14 Years
The Sullivan Eagles football team advanced to their first semifinals game since 2008. Sullivan football is on a roll and has defeated their last nine opponents. The Eagles defeated St. Charles West on Friday at Sullivan in the Class 3 state quarterfinals. Franky Erxleben and Gabe and Gavin Dace helped lead Sullivan’s offense to victory. The Eagles soared over the Warriors, 24-10.
In the first quarter, Sullivan scored the first touchdown of the game. The Eagles received the ball to start the game, but punted the ball away after four downs. Sullivan's defense was powerful right away when Gavin Dace and Colton Brendel stopped the Warriors for a third down and one. The Warriors gained the first down on the next play. St. Charles West turned the ball over when Gabe Dace almost intercepted the ball, but the ruling was a lateral with eight and half minutes left in the quarter. Sullivan’s next possession started with an extraordinary Erxleben run. The Eagles were faced with a four and six opportunity after Gabe Dace overthrew Sam Summers. Sullivan went for it, but a false start was called against them and St. Charles West got the ball back. Sullivan’s strong defense gave them the edge when they dropped the Warriors at the line of scrimmage. The Warriors were blasted again when Cayden Thacker dropped them for a third and six. The turning point was when Dominic Ransom almost picked the ball off with an interception and the Warriors punted the ball away. Erxleben had two good runs, but the ball was fumbled and recovered by St. Charles West. The Eagles weren’t going to go down quietly, as evidenced when Erxleben and Brendel dropped the Warriors for a loss of three. Jonathon Martin then had a good open field tackle, but the Warriors were at three and five. The Warriors turned the ball over when Brendel and Gavin Dace made a great team tackle. With a little under three minutes left, Gabe Dace overthrew Ransom when Dace was blitzed. Both teams made great defense plays, so Sullivan was forced to punt the ball away after an incomplete pass to Summers. St. Charles West fumbled the ball on their next possession and Brendel scooped up the live ball on the pitch play. The next play was a successful first down pass to Martin. Erxleben’s wheels drove Sullivan to another first down on the following play. The Eagles found the endzone when Gabe Dace found his brother Gavin open with seventeen seconds left. The same thing happened again for a successful two point conversion and the Eagles led, 8-0.
In the second quarter, St. Charles West landed in the endzone. They punted the ball away during the first possession of the quarter, but Sullivan fumbled the ball and the Warriors recovered with eleven minutes left. The Warriors then fumbled the ball, but they recovered it. The Warriors were at a three and nineteen, but after a wide receiver screen, they were at a four and fifteen. The Eagles received the ball on a turnover, but the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Warriors. They picked up the first down right away, but Sullivan’s defense had them at a three and one. Jake Anzalone of the Warriors made a five yard run into the endzone, and after the field goal, Sullivan was up by one, 8-7. The Dace brothers connected again during the next Sullivan possession with a 26 yard pass downfield. Ransom used the same motivation when he found a big hole for a 28 yard run. St. Charles West stopped the momentum when they intercepted the ball. Summers made a tackle on defense to give Sullivan the edge back with a turnover. Kayden Bryan made a catch and Jeremiah Rodriguez had a eleven yard run to gain the first down. Sullivan punt the ball away but led to the end of the first half despite the four turnovers they gave up.
In the third quarter, the Warriors started with the ball. Sullivan’s defense forced the Warriors to punt and Erxleben had another stellar run. He trucked over defenders for a 37 yard run. With about nine minutes left, in triple coverage, Summers barely caught a ball, but it was ruled incomplete and Sullivan punted the ball away. The Warriors got a first down, but Martin almost intercepted the ball on the next play. The Warriors didn’t let that affect them, and Jacob Kirt made a huge 49 yard run. Kirt then made another first down after they were at a third down. The Warriors then fumbled, but recovered the ball. St. Charles West kicked a field goal to add to their score with four and a half minutes left. Gavin Dace had a great run back from the kickoff and his brother Gabe made a successful quarterback draw and ran for 35 yards on the next play. Gabe Dace then made a huge Summers pass for a first down and Dayton Skaggs ran for five yards on the next play. Gabe Dace made two running plays to bring Sullivan for a first and goal. Dace finished the drive with an endzone one yard run. The Eagles got the two point conversion when Dace threw a perfect pass to Summers. Sullivan led St. Charles West with a minute and a half left, 16-10.
In the fourth quarter, St. Charles fumbled the ball to start, and Ransom recovered it. Erxleben ran the ball for Sullivan at fourth and three. The Eagles went for it, but the ball was knocked away at the last second on a pass to Summers. Erxleben intercepted the ball on Sullivan’s defense and Rodriguez gained a yard on their next play. Dace passed the ball to Erxleben to give Sullivan a first and goal. Erxleben made a six yard run up the middle to meet the endzone again. Dace passed the ball to the tight end Brendel and the two point conversion was good. Sullivan led the Warriors with a little under eight minutes left, 24-10. St. Charles West fumbled the ball on their next possession, the loose ball recovered by Sullivan’s Martin. This was the Warriors’ seventh fumbled of the night. The Eagles punted the ball away with a little under five minutes left. Head Coach Eddie Haar took a timeout with a little over four minutes left after the Warriors made two positive yard plays. Aidan Cain intercepted the ball for Sullivan and ran the ball for twenty yards before being brought down. Ransom had another big run for Sullivan and was brought down by his facemask, earning extra yards for the penalty. Gabe Dace sealed the game away when he took a knee on the last play.
There were no official stats released at press time.
Sullivan will play in the class three semifinals game at Reeds Spring on Saturday at 1 p.m. Tickets are eight dollars and can be purchased online through MSHSAA Digital Ticketing.