Cincinnati Eagles 47 Illinois Crusaders 14

 

Using the Illinois Crusaders roster from Maxpreps.com

Using the Eagles roster from a game program.

Note: It was a pretty cool setting with Coach Goodpastor before his game, talking about football as well as many other topics.

The Eagles, with stud running back Jordan Jacobson, got things started when Jacobson sprinted for a 17-yard gain, with the aid of his aggressive front line. Later on the drive Jacobson converted a third and two with a 5-yard run. The Eagles ended the 12-play, 78-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jacoby Mooneyhan to Jedediah Saunders, a freshman who is going to be a good one before all is said and done. Noah Rogers hit the PAT to make this a 7-0 game, with 4:40 remaining in the quarter.

The Crusaders would get a 24-yard catch from Julian Acevedo on a bullet thrown by Kelly Langston, setting up a 10-yard touchdown run from Langston. Jackson Bockway locked the game up at seven with his PAT. The drive went for 41 yards on 7 plays.

Before the quarter came to a close, a muffed snap caused Mooneyhan to be sacked by Kosta Fatouros for a loss of 4 yards. The Eagles would light up the scoreboard again when Jacobson went untouched for a 27-yard touchdown, making this a 13-7 game, with 11:52 left in the half.

With 9:13 left in the half, Adam Parker recovered a fumble by the Crusaders to put the Eagles offense back on the field. Mooneyhan was able to connect with Noah Rogers for a gain of 29 yards on third down to see the Eagles up on the Crusaders' 7-yard line. Jacobson scored from a yard out, followed by a two-point conversion run by Mooneyhan, making this a 21-7 game with 5:00 left in the half.

Two minutes later the Eagles were on the move again with Jacobson. breaking two tackles to pick up 15 yards. Jacobson brought the drive to a climax with a 1-yard touchdown run and then blasted in for the two-point conversion to make this a 29-7 game, with 2:03 showing on the clock.

The Crusaders ran a nice little screen pass with Langston hitting Titus Hawley for 26 yards. However, the drive abruptly ended when Holden Culpepper, wearing #4, picked off the Langston pass, with 1:25 left in the half.

Jacobson picked up 20 yards to help set up a field goal attempt by Rogers. One of the strangest results took place on the field goal. The kick was blocked, and the whistle blew, with most of the Eagles stopping or heading to the sideline. Jared Hanson picked the ball up and started running, stopping 75 yards downfield where the refs signaled touchdown. Not one person sitting around me understood how the loud whistle blew,, but the scoreboard now read 29-14 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

With 9:35 left in the third, Truett Furniss looked to have an 80-yard pick six, but a hold was called on the Eagles, negating the score. Jacobson put the ball on the turf, and pouncing on it like an alley cat on a rat was Aiden Molero-Shilney, with 7:03 left in the quarter.

The Eagles would get a drive-ending 26-yard touchdown run from Jacobson to make this a 35-14 game. Max Wechter knocked the two-point conversion pass away.

With 11:40 left in the game, the Eagles would go for it on fourth and twenty-two, and that gamble paid off big time when #83 hauled in a 42-yard touchdown pass. Wechter picked off the two-point conversion pass, leaving this a 41-14 game.

At the 9:37 mark of the quarter, Rogers showed his talent as a runner, going 50 yards to make this a 47-14 game. Rogers would total Rogers had just 5 rushing attempts but ran for 110 yards and the touchdown.

Jackson Batta would throw Hawley down for a loss of three, and then Culpepper picked off Nolan Langston with 7:33 left in the game.

The last 6:12 of the game brought three notable plays. First, Rogers galloped to a gain of thirty-three, then Aiden Molero-Shilney recovered an Eagles fumble by #27 Ethan Kyle. The final notable play came in the form of a fumble by TJ Boen that was recovered by the Eagles' #83 Lincoln Womack.

Some Eagles stats provided by Coach Goodpastor,

Mooneyhan, 7-11, 126 yards, 2 TDs

Jacobson, 30 rushes for 270 yards

Total offense: 577 yards.

Unofficial stats for the Crusaders,

Plays 47

182 Yards

Passing, 9-27, 3 Int's

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