By: Bailey Wilson
With a decisive 48-20 victory over Aspen on Saturday, the Eaton Reds football team will move on to second round of division 2-A playoffs this Saturday against the Bayfield Mighty Wolverines.
The Reds football team proved that it was going to stop at nothing to reach long-awaited post-season play. The team’s only hurdle left in the regular season was a face off against rival squad, Platte Valley, and after easily stepping over the Broncos, the road to a state championship began. The words that were scribbled on the windows of Eaton High School by Kersey students, “Better Dead Than Red” failed to shake the unbreakable confidence the team has built over the course of the season. This confidence was showcased not only in its 41-7 win over Platte Valley, but also in the first round of playoffs as the team breezed by the Aspen Skiers. With the home field advantage, it was no surprise the Reds were able to take control early, jumping to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter. The team racked up another 27 points through the remainder of the game securing a spot in the next round. Austin Ekeler (13) lead the team in rushing yards adding 218 to his season-long 937 yards. Ekeler also played a key role on the receiving end as he went on to score four touchdowns in the Reds 48-20 victory. Quarterback Jaden Olearnick (12) also had a successful day, completing 10 out of 22 passes for a total of 160 yards; finding the end-zone twice. With the win against Aspen, the team moved up to fourth in the state division ranking according to maxpreps.com and is set to take on the number six team from Bayfield this weekend.
[flagallery gid=9 name=”Gallery”]