Football is often called a game of inches. That was certainly the case for the Eupora Eagles on Friday night.
Eupora came up just short on a two-point conversion as Calhoun City held on to take a 10-9 win and clinch the Division 2-2A title.
With the loss, Eupora falls to 6-4 on the season and finishes as the No. 2 seed, winning out a tiebreaker with East Webster and Leflore County. The Eagles will host Coahoma County in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs this Friday.
It was a tough loss for coach Stephen Edwards and his Eagles, who would have won the division had they scored on the two-point conversion.
“I told the kids that I was extremely proud of their effort,” Edwards said. “Calhoun City is a good football team and has been battle tested. The bottom line is they won the football game. We committed five turnovers and you can’t do that and beat a good football team. I just hate it for our kids because they played as hard as they could. If there is a silver lining, we were rewarded for playing them so close with a first-round playoff game.”
Despite the low score, the Eagles had the Wildcats on their heels as they took their opening drive and moved inside the 20 before turning the ball over on downs.
After forcing a Calhoun City punt, the Eagles moved into the Calhoun City 10 before an interception in the end zone on fourth down.
After another Calhoun City punt, Eupora finally got on the board as Kimble Dillinger booted a 27-yard field goal with 7:10 left in the half to take a 3-0 lead.
Calhoun got its only points of the half when the Eagles fumbled at their own 34. The Eupora defense held strong and forced a 17-yard field goal to end the half with the score tied 3-3.
“We made too many mistakes,” Edwards said. “We had some chances and left some points on the field. I thought our offense did a good job of mixing the run and the pass. We knew that we would have a hard time running the football on them.”
Calhoun took the lead in the third quarter as they used a 13-play scoring drive. The Wildcats got a break when Eupora ran into the punter to continue the drive. The Wildcats eventually scored on a 1-yard run with 1:03 left in the third. The PAT was good and Calhoun led 10-3.
“That was so frustrating,” Edwards said. “We had them stopped and then run into the kicker and give them a first down.”
Eupora had another wasted chance when Edwin Herard hit Jalan Potts on a 53-yard gainer. But a fumblel two plays later at the Calhoun 30 to end the drive.
The Eupora defense again held after a fumbled punt at its own 28. The Eagles then hit paydirt as Herard hit Camron Culpepper on a 79-yard touchdown pass with 3:25 left in the game. The Eagles went for two and Herard was ruled short of the goal to leave the score at 10-9.
“You look at our film and I thought he made it in but it’s hard to tell,” Edwards said. “Both side judges came running in and neither one wanted to make the call. The umpire was stepping back. I know they are human but somebody has to step up and make a call right there. But the bottom line is, Calhoun City beat us.”
The Eagles had one last chance as they recovered the onside kick. The Eagles had a 37-yard field goal lined up for the win but the snap was high and the try failed.
On offense, Eupora had 285 yards of total offense with 201 passing and 84 rushing. Herard had 42 yards on 15 carries while Tre McComb had 38 yards on 10 carries. Herard was 7-of-17 passing for 201 yards. Camron Culpepper had two catches for 98 yards while Jalan Potts had four catches for 91 yards.
Deunte Watson led the defense with 14 tackles while Herard had 13 stops. Makers Potts has 10 tackles while Jalan Potts had nine tackles. Preston Perkins had eight tackles while M.J. Thomas had five tackles. Zak Morris had six tackles while Parker Blaylock, Jacarius Turner and Landon Davis each had three tackles apiece.
The Eagles will host Coahoma County in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs this week.
Coahoma is 3-8 on the season but has won two in a row with wins over West Tallahatchie (20-14) and West Bolivar (31-7). They also have a win over Riverside (25-19). Their losses have come to North Panola (58-0), Byhalia (28-7), Broad Street (28-14), Coahoma AHS (28-26), South Delta (38-13), O’Bannon (28-6), Clarksdale (49-14) and Leland (28-26).
“They have good speed and have athletes,” Edwards said. “They have a couple of good running backs and a big wide receiver they like to throw to. I’m glad we have a home game and that’s big for these seniors. It’s the third season now and everybody is 0-0 and we get to host that first round. I think we are battle tested and know how to handle our emotions in a close game.”
