Eagles hammer Bobcats 42-16

Week 3 of the high school football season is in the books. No question, the Liberty Eagles played their best game so far on Saturday afternoon against the Thayer Bobcats. Led by a breakout performance from running back Jaren Rutledge, the Eagles forced their will with a powerful ground attack. Through the first two games, Rutledge had just a few carries and zero touchdowns. Saturday, he broke through for a massive 5 touchdown performance. 

 

The first quarter started with the teams trading possessions. Both teams’ defenses came up with big stops deep in their own territory. 

 

Rutledge opened the scoring with his first touchdown of the season on the Eagles’ second possession. The lateral speed of the Eagles sent Bobcat defenders flowing outside and Rutledge hit on the 11-yard gash straight up the middle. He ran in the two-point conversion for the 8-0 Eagle lead. 

 

On the first play of the second quarter, Liberty pounced on a Thayer fumble and set up their offense deep in Bobcat territory. Rutledge cashed in again, this time from 9-yards out. Quarterback Gavin Reese made the conversion run to make it 16-0.

 

Thayer wasn't going down without a fight, however. The ‘Cats caught the Eagles cheating on defense and quarterback Dawson Harris connected with tight end Brandon Prince over the middle for a 36-yard scoring strike. Running back Thomas Poole ran in the conversion attempt to make it a one-score-game 16-8.

 

Perhaps the game’s defining moment came on the Eagles' next series. The Bobcat defense had forced a fourth down-and-one for the Eagles. Make the stop and the ‘Cats would keep momentum and get the ball back with a chance to tie the game. 

 

Instead, Mr. Rutledge broke through the Thayer defense and scampered in for 6 points from 35-yards away. It was a blow the Bobcats would not recover from.

 

With three more touchdowns, (two from Rutledge and one pass from Parker Tune to Chris Sharr,) the Eagles put together a dominating performance. The Bobcats’ Poole added a touchdown plunge of his own in the third quarter. 

 

We'll see if the Eagles can keep the momentum up this week when they travel to face the 3-0 Ava Bears in what figures to be a heavyweight bout in the SCA.