Breakdown:

The Golden Eagles (ranked 9th in the state) suffered their second loss of the season – a setback against the impressive and undefeated third-ranked Lawrence Lions.

Recap:

    The game started off hot with the Lawrence Lions putting up a total of 30 points throughout the course of the first half. The Golden Eagle defense seemed to have a somewhat difficult time stopping the elaborate running game presented by the Lawrence Lions. Whether it’s attacking the defensive ends on the outside of the defensive line, or pounding the ball up the middle with elite proficiency, the Lawrence offense seems to always find ways to identify potential weaknesses in the opposing defense, then continuously attack that weakness with consistent, high levels of success.

As for the Golden Eagles, they seemed to have a rather difficult time keeping up with the Lawrence Lions, with the team only being able to put up 14 total points throughout the first half, compared to the 30 points put up by the Lions. But following the halftime break, the Golden Eagles were able to put 14 unanswered points on the board, while also holding the Lions to zero third-quarter points, setting the score at 30-28 in favor of the Lawrence Lions going into the very crucial fourth quarter.

The Lawrence Lions were then able to punch the ball into the endzone immediately to begin the fourth quarter, putting the game at 37-28 in favor of the Lions. It then turned into a classic defensive slugfest for the remainder of the fourth quarter, with the Golden Eagles spending the rest of the game attempting to get points on the board in an attempt to break into the Lion’s nine-point lead.

But the game changing play was made by the Lawrence Lions defense, when they were able to negate a potential big play by Noah Furgeson by pushing him out of bounds, just before the Golden Eagle receiver was able to pass the first down marker with roughly two minutes left in the game.

The reason for this play’s significance was that if the Golden Eagles would have been able to pick up the first down on that play, they would have been in position to score a touchdown late in the fourth. If the Golden Eagles would have then gone for a two-point conversion, they would have only been down one point going into the waning minutes of the game. The Golden Eagles still would have had enough time to go for the onside kick and potentially kick a walk off field goal to effectively ice the game for the Golden Eagles.

But due to the unfortunate sequence of events for the Golden Eagles late in the game, the Lions were able to run out the clock and seal this great game with a score of 38-27 in favor of the Lawrence Lions.

Adrian’s Thoughts:

Both teams played a great game this past Saturday. Even though the Golden Eagles came up short against Lawrence, they showed that they can play at a high level with anyone in the state. If the ball would have bounced a few different directions the outcome of the game could have had a much different outcome and result. The next step for the Golden Eagles will be to knock off a top-level opponent in Bishop Miege and, in the process, cement themselves as a top contender for the 2020 state title.