Sullivan Eagles Football Played Great Season And Headed To Their First Semifinals In Fourteen Years
By Wyatt Hardy
In 2022, the Sullivan Eagles football team had its greatest season in nearly a decade. They advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in fourteen years, led by head coach Eddie Haar in his third season. They pulled an impressive 11-3 record, a major improvement from their previous 5-6 season. After years of persevering, the Eagles had finally brought back the spirit of winning to Sullivan.
Their season started at home with a first-game win against the Northwest Mustangs, emerging victorious with a 34-7 score.
The next week, they surged past the De Soto Dragons during their first road game of the football season, dominating with a score of 38-0. Sullivan came alive in the first quarter, preventing the Dragons from making any progress into the endzone.
Sullivan’s winning streak folded when the Union Wildcats outsmarted them with quick plays and surprises. The game went back and forth until Union scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win 29-12.
The following week, the Eagles held off the St. Clair Bulldogs the best they could at home but ultimately fell to them, 27-14. St. Clair’s offense scored three unanswered touchdowns before Sullivan scored their second touchdown to bridge the gap.
The team then used their motivation from the two previous losses and defeated Pacific 30-0 at Homecoming, showing no mercy as they shut out their Four Rivers Conference rivals.
The following Friday, Sullivan beat the Hermann Bearcats, winning 6-0 and handing them their first loss of the season. Hermann had underestimated Sullivan’s powerful defense. Dominic Ransom’s interception in the fourth quarter stopped a potential game-tying score with under four minutes to play and Franky Erxleben iced the game with two first-down runs to run out the clock.
The Eagles remained a dominant force against St. James, surging past them with a score of 51-14. Sullivan scored on their first two drives of the game, putting away the Tigers early. Despite St. James bouncing back in the first quarter, Sullivan was already up by two touchdowns. The running game clock started in the second half when Sullivan was already ahead by a substantial amount.
The Sullivan Eagles continued their streak of victories and fired on all cylinders with a 26-0 victory over Owensville. Their defense stepped up for their fourth shutout of the season, building momentum for the postseason.
The Sullivan Eagles gave a stellar performance at their last regular-season football game, defeating the North County Raiders 34-13, with the home crowd showing up to support them.
Their epic playoff run began against Salem at the quarterfinals, where Sullivan shut out the Tigers at home with a score of 48-0.
They continued their powerhouse season the following Friday at the semifinals against Owensville. Sullivan dominated Owensville 36-7 despite playing against the wind.
The team then faced St. Clair at the district championship, a team they had lost to earlier in the season. However, they refused to slip up again and turned away St. Clair in the final seconds of the game for a 14-13 victory. Sullivan’s dramatic stop on the two-point run snapped years of frustrating defeats against their biggest rival. It was Sullivan’s first district title since 2012 when they took down the same Bulldogs.
The Eagles went on to defeat St. Charles West on Friday at home in the state quarterfinals. Erxleben, Gabe and Gavin Dace helped lead Sullivan’s offense to victory, soaring over the Warriors with a score of 24-10. Sullivan now advanced to their first semifinals game since 2008.
Sullivan battled hard against Reeds Spring but came up short in the second half. Reeds Spring defeated Sullivan 49-20 and moved on to the state finals in Columbia. Reeds Spring ended up falling to Cardinal Ritter in the state championship, finishing in second place.
Despite losing in the semifinals, the Eagles pulled off a miraculous playoff run and reignited the spirit of winning in Sullivan. They revived themselves back to their glory days with an improved 11-3 record.
Sullivan will miss seniors like the Daces, Sam Summers, Kayden Bryan, Levi Rodgers, Jonathan Martin, Ben Brendel, Jordan Rice and Ethan Hays. However, the Eagles are now more confident than ever and can take on any threat that comes their way.
Erxleben, one of the top Eagles players last season, had an outstanding year as a running back and linebacker. When reflecting on his experience, he said, “Stepping out of the field with all my friends that I have played with since 5th grade and seeing all the hard work we put in pay off. The most memorable game was when we played St. Clair for the district championships.”