WINNSBORO – Richard Winn’s Ruff Field was the setting for the October 22nd gridiron competition between the Eagles and the visiting Jefferson Davis Raiders from Blackville. The Eagles thrilled their large Senior Night home crowd with a big 54-18 victory to boost their undefeated record to 8-0.
“We were excited to get the win against a very physical football team. Offensively B Baker was strong at running back, and we felt like Landon Caulder played his best game of the season at quarterback. Cam Simms had a huge game playing on the defensive line with 17 tackles.” said Paul Brigman, RWA’s head coach.
Jefferson Davis won the coin flip and elected to receive. The Raiders used a strong ground game to move the ball downfield and score at the 6:20 mark in the opening quarter. The 2-point conversion attempt failed. The Raiders held the early 6-0 lead with the Eagles just getting their first touch on offense with a little more than half the first quarter left.
Eagle B Baker wasted little time taking a handoff from Caulder and raced into the end zone. Unfortunately, the touchdown was negated due to a chop block penalty. The Eagle offense was not deterred by the 15 yard penalty and used a mixture of aerial and rushing plays to advance into the red zone. The Caulder-Baker duo combined forces again to put RWA on the scoreboard with 2:33 left in the first quarter. The PAT kick was blocked. Baker’s TD put the game in a 6-6 tie.
The Raiders were unable to pick up a first down on their next possession and punted just before the first quarter ended.
Second quarter action progressed in the Eagles’ favor as they went on to score three more times while the Eagle defense hung tough to deny the Raiders any further scoring in the first half. RWA took the early second quarter lead with a mixture of passing and rushing plays. Caulder called his own number and rushed the short distance remaining to score, and Baker followed up with the 2-pt. conversion for the first of three scores in the second quarter.
After the Raiders were forced to give up the ball on downs, Caulder found Lawson Wade as a prime receiver for the next Eagle touchdown. Drew Spires tacked on the 2-point conversion play. With 5:02 left in the first half, RWA went up 22-6.
Jefferson Davis had a couple of setbacks of an illegal motion penalty and a sack by Eagle Brian King that forced their offense to punt. Back under center, Caulder used nothing but air attacks this time and was perfect in attempts to his receivers before connecting with Rob Wilson for the TD and with Spires for the 2-point conversion. The Eagles boosted their lead to 30-6 with less than a minute left in the first half.
The Raiders came out of the locker room scrappy and forced an Eagle turnover early on that resulted in a JDA touchdown with 9:47 on the 3rd quarter clock. The 2-pt conversion failed.
Next the Raiders were successful with recovering an onside kick. What looked to be a momentum swing for the Raiders turned sour when Spires intercepted a Raider pass in the end zone to halt their scoring drive.
The Eagle offense went back to work, and Caulder connected with Wade for a long pass completion. Caulder then rushed to the 15 yard line before finding Spires open for a TD pass on the next play. Next Caulder connected with Berry Bonds for the 2-point conversion. RWA now held a 38-12 lead with 5:51 left in the third period.
During JDA’s next possession, Wade recovered a Raider fumble. In the following series of Eagle offensive plays, Caulder found Spires once again for an aerial touchdown and Wade for the 2-point conversion pass. RWA continued to widen their lead, 46-12, with 18.2 seconds remaining in the third period.
On a fourth and one Raider play, RWA’s Simms made a big defensive stop to allow his team’s offense to take the field again. Backup QB Charlie Bonds handed off and then passed to Jacob Chaisson for big yardage and a touchdown at the 10:14 mark in the final quarter. C. Bonds kept the ball to rush for the 2-pt conversion. RWA 54- JDA 12.
Before time expired, the Raiders scored once more, but the 2-pt. conversion failed. RWA 54 – JDA 18
As a team, the Eagles ran 36 plays for 421 yards with 171 rushing yards and 250 passing/receiving yards. The Raiders ran 66 plays for 199 yards.
Baker rushed for 79 yards on 9 tries, made a touchdown and a 2 pt. conversion in addition to having 48 receiving yards and 12 tackles. Caulder rushed for 2 touchdowns and passed for 4 touchdowns and 3 2-pt. conversions. He had 6 rushes for 49 yards, and was 9 for 12 passing for 213 yards. Spires had 4 catches for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns, a 2 pt. conversion run, and an interception. Wade had 2 catches for 59 yards and 1 TD in addition to 16 tackles and a fumble recovery. Wilson had 2 catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Chaisson had a 31 yard catch for a touchdown and 6 tackles. Leading the defensive stand were J Talbert with 19 tackles and Campbell Sims with 17. Brian King had 12 tackles and 2 sacks. Michael Poole added 7 tackles.
The Eagles go on the road to Johnston this week for their final regular season game against region foe Wardlaw Academy.
