Eaton football destroys Lamar 35-0

by Devan McKenney

What Happened: Friday, Sept. 2, The Eaton Reds shut out the Lamar Savages 35-0 in their season opener football game. The Reds showed on the opening drive that they can grind out yards. In 18 plays, the Reds marched forward 70 yards. They ended the drive with a touchdown off of a tipped pass hauled in by Evan Anderson (18).

Offense: Anderson had 4 receptions for 32 yards and 2 touchdowns. Austin Coalson (18)  passed for 134 yards and completed 60.9 percent of them. Travis Cunningham (18) rushed for 102 yards in 19 carries. The team totalled 326 all purpose yards.

Defense: On the defensive side of the ball, Ed Fritzler (17) led the team in tackles with 11 total. Jaxon Hobbs (17) had 8 tackles including 1 sack. The defensive backs were all over the opposing receivers, holding the Savages to zero passing yards. Eaton also held the Savages to only 124 rushing yards. “The defensive line dominated today,” Fritzler said. “Our defensive backs did a really good job on pass coverage, which gave us a lot of opportunities to sack the quarterback.”

Should Have Seen It: Late in the third quarter, the Reds found themselves on Lamar’s 21-yard line. On fourth down with 15 yards to go, Coalson threw a short out-route to Tanner Frank (17). Hayden Gavette (18) took out one man, giving Frank room to turn up field and sprint down the sideline past two Lamar defenders. Lamer’s safety, the only one who could stop Frank, took a giant hit at the goal line as Frank lowered his shoulder and plowed right through him to score Eaton’s last touchdown of the night.

They Said It: Eaton’s Head Coach Zac Lemon said he was looking forward to the rest of the season. “What I’m excited about right now is our depth,” Lemon said. “We’ve got a team of guys who can really play, and that is truly exciting.”

Regarding the team’s victory, Coalson said, “Mainly, this win means that we know where we are at, where we stand unity wise. We just have to further improve our team bonding and we will be set.”

Next Up: Eaton will take on the Platte Valley Broncos at home at 7 pm on Friday, Sept. 9.

Photo By Cameron Moser