By Robbie Robertson
The Star-Herald
Trailing 21-13 in the second half, French Camp had multiple attempts to tie the game.
But the Panthers failed to find the end zone and Eupora pulled away late with two long runs to take a 34-13 win over French Camp on Friday night.
French Camp falls to 0-2 on the season and will host Vardaman on Friday night.
For veteran coach Nathan Wright, it was another frustrating loss.
“I thought for the most part we played well except for those two long runs at the end,” Wright said. “It’s just a lot of little things but those little things add up. It’s the little mental let ups that will pay for. We had a couple of let ups on offense. We had our chances there to get in the end zone and I thought we could have willed it in there.”
French Camp got the ball to start the game but was forced to punt. Eupora then fumbled and gave the Panthers the ball right back. Logan Wright then hit Noah Dew on an 18-yard touchdown pass. Reese Churchill hit the PAT and French Camp led 7-0.
The Eagles responded with the first of several big plays, scoring on a 67-yard run. Eupora hit the PAT and tied the game at 7-7.
The defenses settled in and Eupora took the lead in the second quarter when the Eagles scored on a 1-yard run. Silas Hodge blocked the PAT and Eupora led 13-7 at the half.
The action heated up in the third quarter as Eupora extended the lead with a 6-yard run and two-point conversion to go up 21-7. French Camp answered right back as Avery Summers scored on a 75-yard kickoff return. The PAT failed and Eupora held a 21-13 lead.
The Panthers then had two different chances to tie the game with drives that went inside the Eupora 10 but both came up empty.
“I felt like it would have been a different game if we had put one of those in the end zone,” Wright said. “It could have been very different and should have swung the other way quickly. We had all the momentum at that point but just could’t get it done. You have to be able to stick the ball in the end zone when you get down there close. It was a good game for three quarters and the beginning of the fourth. It was anybody’s game until that point.”
Eupora pulled away late with a pair of long plays, scoring on runs of 68 and 80 yards for the final of 34-13.
“It was 21-13 with about eight minutes left and that 68-yard run really hurt,” Wright said. “That kind of let the air out of our sales. We were at that place where you either find a way to win or the other team does. It seems like the other teams find a way to make the plays and we just can’t figure that out as coaches or put our fingers on that. We are scratching our heads to see why it’s that way and try to correct that.”
French Camp had 202 yards rushing and 51 passing for 253 yards of total offense. Logan Wright had 84 yards on 15 carries while Hodge had 81 yards on 15 carries. Aiden Ray had 25 yards on three carries while Casen Shurden had 12 yards on two carries.
Logan Wright was 4-of-10 passing for 51 yards with one TD. Dew had one catch for 18 yards and a TD while Hodge had one catch for 17 yards. Avery Summers had one catch for 10 yards while Reese Churchill had one catch for six yards.
On defense, Carson Philyaw led the Panthers with five solo tackles and seven assists. Shurden han six tackles and one for loss while Hodge had six solo tackles and a blocked kick. Aiden Ray had five solo tackles and an assist while J.D. Leach and Rylan Moore each had three tackles while Moore had a sack. C.J. Williams had two tackles and four assists while Wright had two tackles and one for loss. Avery Summers had two tackles while John Moore and Reese Churchill each had a tackle.
This weeks game
The Panthers will have their hands full again this week as they host unbeaten Vardaman.
The Rams are 2-0 on the season with wins over Nanih Waiya (35-14) and Bruce (27-12).
“They appear to be a really good football team,” Wright said. “He has been playing with those kids for a while and they look really good. They beat Nanih Waiya pretty good in week one and handled Bruce. They have two pretty good running backs and are pretty salty so it doesn’t get any easier for us this week. They run the ball hard and will probably be the best team we have played so far.”
Last year, Vardaman beat French Camp 14-10 in a district contest.
