WOODVILLE — The Woodville Eagles hosted the Trinity Tigers on Friday night to begin district play. Going into the match, the Tigers were undefeated, but went home with a loss.
The Eagles received the opening kickoff to begin what would be a marathon first quarter.
The Eagles combined running and passing on their first drive to march 75 yards to the end zone. The Tigers’ opening possession began with a 29-yard completion to Chance Barron and three plays later, Terian Maxie took off for an 8-yard touchdown run.
Tied 7-7, the Eagles drove 60-yards and took a 14-7 lead after the Tigers were forced to punt, the Eagles extended their lead to 21-7, with a 58-yard touchdown drive. The Eagles’ kickoff resulted in a loose ball recovery by the Eagles and a one play 10-yard touchdown pass giving the Eagles a 28-7 lead. The Tigers fortunes did not improve on their next drive as a fumble gave the ball back to the Eagles on the Tiger 28-yard line.
The Eagles again found the end zone and took a 34-7 lead.
The Tigers took possession and on the third play, Maxie broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run. The first quarter finally ended with the Eagles leading 34-14.
The Tigers were able to force a field goal attempt on the Eagles’ opening possession of the second quarter, but it sailed wide. The Tigers responded with a 13-play, 85-yard scoring drive and Maxie scoring from two yards out. Leading 34-21, the Eagles were again forced to attempt a field goal, but again it sailed wide. The Eagles were able to take a 42-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Tigers began the third quarter with the ball, but failed to convert on fourth down, the Tiger defense was able to force the Eagles to also turn the ball over on downs. With a forced Tiger punt on their next possession, the Eagles took two plays to score and extended the lead to 48-28. The Tigers fumbled their next possession and with a pass interference call against the Tigers, the Eagles again scored and took command of the of the game with a 54-28 lead. The Tigers were forced to punt, and as time ran out in the third quarter, the Eagles scored and took a 62-28 lead into the final quarter.
The Tigers opened the fourth quarter with the ball and with a 19-yard run by Maxie a 50-yard completion to Trailing 62-35, the Tigers forced an Eagle punt. Starting at their own 12-yard line, the Tigers moved the ball to the Eagle 19-yard line, but a fumble ended the drive. The Tigers again forced the Eagles to punt and a blocked kick by Matthew Bivens would have given the Tigers another scoring opportunity, but as the ball rolled past the line of scrimmage, it hit one of the Tigers and the ball was recovered by the Eagles. With 1:55 left in the game, the Eagles again scored and took a 68-35 victory over the Tigers.
Leading on the Eagle defense were sophomores Ace Esway with 11 tackles and his classmate Nasir Harris with six tackles.
Leading scorers for the Eagles were seniors Gage Tolar and Tanner LeDoux, who each scored four touchdowns, for a combined 48 points. Senior Dustin Barlow and sophomore Austin Land also each scored a TD for the Eagles.
This Friday, the Eagles will travel to the south end of the county to take on the Warren Warriors. The Warriors are winless this season, and started district with a 0-14 loss to New Waverly last week. Kick off is at 7 p.m at George “Bo” Isaacks Stadium.
