The Reds will have the opportunity to represent Eaton at the 2A State Championships for the second year in a row. As the last high school football game on this field, the boys left it all on the field with a final score of 39-24 over the University Bulldogs. Next year, the Reds will be playing on the new field at the new high school. Eaton will play Brush on November 27 in the CSU-Pueblo Thunderbowl at 6 pm for the 2A State Title.

Going into the Championship, the Reds are undefeated. Their next opponent, the Beatdiggers, had a 7-2 record before the playoffs. In the Beatdiggers regular season, they lost to Fort Morgan, a 3A team, and Severance. Brush battled Severance on Saturday for their Semifinal game and beat the Silver Knights 35-18.

Head Coach Zac Lemon said Brush is “playing with a lot of confidence, and they are really physical. We just have to match their physicality and take away what they do best.”

The Reds scored 21 points in the first quarter followed by six points in each of the remaining quarters. Touchdowns were made by Zac Grable (23), Austin Martinez (23), and Ryder True (23).

After receiving the kick-off, the Red’s first offensive play was a deep throw to Martinez from quarterback Walker Martin (23) for an 80 yard Eaton touchdown. True’s first touchdown was made in the second quarter by a 4 yard rush into the endzone. His second touchdown was made in the fourth quarter off of a shovel pass from Martin that True then ran 37 yards into the endzone. 

Grable led the Reds in receiving yards and had three touchdowns for the Reds. His first touchdown was made off of a 63-yard pass from Martin. His second touchdown was made by a 45-yard pass in the first quarter. Grable’s last touchdown occurred in the third quarter by a 35-yard pass. 

Grable said, “My personal best play was my first touchdown pass from Walker; I was pretty wide open, and it felt good to set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Closing in on the halftime, Martin was put in as a safety and intercepted the ball on a long pass from Bulldog quarterback, Greg Garza. When the Reds got back from half-time, it began to rain.  “The hardest part of the University game was playing in the rain in the third quarter because it was just a toughness battle at that point,” Grable said.

The Red’s defense was led by Ethan Florez (22) with 15 tackles followed by True with 14 tackles and Ryan Dirksen (22) with 13. Dirksen and Morgan Tribbett (23) each had one and a half sacks for the Reds.

Leading in offensive seasonal stats is Martin with 1288 passing yards. Florez leads in rushing yardage with 883 yards followed by Dirksen with 851 yards. Grable leads the Reds in receiving yards for a total of 430 yards.

“I think that the hardest thing about Brush will be the power offense they have, but I have no doubts that we can stop it,” said Dirksen.

Defensive seasonal stats are led by Dirksen with 102 tackles followed by True with 101 tackles. Dirksen also leads the Reds in sacks with 11.5 total. 

As the Reds gear up for the State Title game, they are ready to end undefeated with another State Title in their hands. All that stands in their way is the Brush Beatdiggers.