Eagles smash Miners, 42-25, in season opener

Scoring every quarter, the Eagles football team won the first game of its 100th season, 42-25. The Eagles took the lead in the first quarter and never let up.

Jonn McLain, senior of Chadron, and Patrick O’Boyle, senior of Gering, tag teamed as quarterback. McLain completed 22 passes for 260 yards including one touchdown. O’Boyle completed three throws for 91 yards, also including one touchdown. O’Boyle also led the team in rushing yards with 77 yards and another touchdown.  Together, McLain and O’Boyle posted 351 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Cody Paul, sophomore of Seal Beach, California, and Michael Madkins, senior of Sacramento, California, also helped out the team on the ground gaining 66 and 44 yards respectively. Paul tallied one touchdown, and Madkins marked two. The team had 244 rushing yards with four touchdowns.

Madkins also helped in the air, receiving five passes for 36 yards. Kyle Vinich, junior of Casper, Wyoming, led the team in receiving yards, grabbing 10 for 151 yards and one touchdown.

Team captain Zach Sandstrom, senior of Chadron, talked about the defense’s performance.

“When it comes to defense, we started off the first half of the game great,” he said. “But the second half, we did not execute as well as the first half. We came out and only allowed six points in the first half, but in the second half we allowed way too much. We could have been better on 4th down conversations as well. We allowed the offense to covert too many of their 4th down attempts.”

Lane Haller, senior of Gordon; Conor Casey, senior of Rapid City, South Dakota; and Isaac Holscher, senior of Scottsbluff; led the team with nine tackles each. Casey had one for a loss, and Holscher had 2.5 for loss. Tanner Wintholz, redshirt freshman of Sidney, marked one sack for a loss of nine yards.

Before the game, the team selected six players to be named team captains. Those players include Casey; Dylan Furrier, junior of Tucson, Arizona; Haller; McLain; Sam Parker, senior of Harrison; and Sandstrom.

Parker commented on how the team played this weekend.

“I was pleased with how we played on Saturday,” he said. “We did a lot of things well. We moved the ball well at times, and our defense and special teams helped give us great field position. Also, we limited our penalties which was an area we struggled at last year against [the Miners].”

The team marked six penalties for 60 yards on Saturday. The Miners were flagged eight times for 69 yards.

Haller also talked about how the team performed against the Miners.

“I would say that as a player looking back, there are always moments in the game when you wish you would have maybe done that, or did this thing a little better, but overall, I think we did a good job at executing what we set out to do,” he said. “During the first game, there are always a lot of emotions and nerves that players aren’t always use to having, so it was fortunate we were able to experience those different emotions and get used to the game’s speed, and still come out with a ‘W’.”

In preparation for this week’s game, the Eagles are focusing on being consistent.

“This week, we want to continue to eliminate penalties,” Parker said, “and focus on being more consistent throughout the game.”

Sandstrom also commented on what the team needs to work on.

“We need to focus on finishing the game on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “We need to play a full game. We are focusing on the 3rd and 4th quarters. As the game goes on we want to become stronger. We also need to improve on 4th downs, and we will focus on that this week.

“Overall, as a team, we need to have the offense, defense, and special teams on the same page. If we can put a full game together with all three parts then we will have a good game,” he said.

The Eagles will take to the road to compete against Idaho State University, Pocatello, at 2:35 p.m., Saturday.

 “I think the biggest thing for us right now, especially for the defense,” Haller said, “We have to become more consistent. There were times Saturday that I thought we were unstoppable, and then the following series or just a couple plays later, we would give up a touchdown. I think it all boils down to having more ability to remain focused and play with intensity rather than emotion.”