The Eupora High School football team had its hands full last Friday night hosting the Class 2A, Region 2 front runners in Calhoun City, but the Eagles weren’t going to back down. Though Eupora was in striking distance for most of the game, they couldn’t make enough plays offensively to overcome the Wildcats. The defense held up until late before CCHS was able to pull away with a deceptive 24-7 win. “It was a 12-7 ball game with 9 minutes to go and they had a couple of plays to stretch it out, but we should have had it a one possession game to finish out,” head coach Stephen Edwards said. “There were a lot of plays for us to make especially in that first half. We got the ball down inside the 20 and couldn’t score and they got a defensive score that gave them the lead. That hurt for sure. “At the end of the day, Calhoun City is Calhoun City and somebody is going to have to knock them off the perch before they can claim the conference.” The Wildcats (3-3, 2-0 Region 2) earned a forfeit win over East Webster two weeks ago and came in with a chance to solidify themselves back up top in the division. They’re a win away from clinching it yet again. The visitors certainly weren’t as formidable as they have been in the past, but they still controlled the ground game best they could. The Wildcats had 166 yards rushing and 146 through the air as they got 89 yards on seven carries from Jaylen Artberry who had 68 of those on one play. Jackson Lee also had 15 carries for 50 yards. Eupora kept a lot of big plays in front of them with Tra Mccomb making 12 tackles and 1.0 tackles for loss and Kyle Kilgore six tackles and 2.0 TFL. Quintavis Morris was very disruptive in the backfield notching 3.0 sacks in the loss as the team continued to play with confidence on that side of the ball. “I think overall we’re playing a little harder than we have in the past,” Edwards said. “These younger kids have really put pressure on the older ones, but the seniors have stepped up too. Once they saw the younger guys and the talent they have, the older guys kind of picked their pace up. They’ve been the leaders that we hoped they would be.” Calhoun City got the first score of the game late in the first quarter before the Eagles marched it right back down the field and finished off a drive with a Ty Murphy 1-yard score. On the next possession, however, Eupora failed to get points and CCHS would score thanks to a turnover to take the 12-7 halftime lead. That sequence proved to be costly as Eupora’s defense tried to hold on as long as it could. Calhoun City got two more scores in the final frame and they were able to push the lead out a bit to make it look more comfortable than it actually was. The offense finished under 200 yards against the stingy CCHS front. Murphy managed 15 carries for 58 yards and a score and was 8-of-21 passing for 68 yards and an interception. They were aided by some strong punting from Kimble Dillinger with five punts averaging 40 yards and one inside the 20. It’s still in the hands of the Eagles to get the No. 2 spot in Region 2. Their next match up comes against J.Z. George this week who sits at 3-2 and earned a forfeit win over East Webster this past week. The Jaguars have losses to Winona and Walnut and wins against Leake County and Central Holmes Christian Academy. Edwards said that every game from here on out is as crucial as ever and they’ll need a good night on the road. “They’ve got some skill guys that can run and have a division win right now. It’s that next big game for us where we seed ourselves. We’ve got to handle our business,” Edwards said. “They’re going to be a little bit faster than us and we’re going to have to bend but not break.”
