The Sayre Eagle football team presented Coach Craig Hixon on his 50th birthday his 50th career victory as a head coach on Eagle field against the Merritt Oilers by the score of 30 to 20 last Thursday evening. Sayre took the opening kickoff and drove 52 yards in 12 running plays to put an early touchdown on the scoreboard. Jaden Mosser zipped the ball into the end zone from 3 yards out. Ayden Hendershot ran for the PAT and the score read 8 to 0 with 6:15 left in the first quarter. Mosser was on fire as he ran for 3 of the Eagles four touchdowns on the night and ended with 130 yards on 14 carries for a 9.3 yard per carry average.
The score remained 8 to 0 after the first quarter ended. Midway into the second quarter the Oilers put together a 9 play scoring drive that was finished when QB Brylan Jones connected with Caleb Compton for a 28 yard TD pass. Curtis Henley ran for the 2 point PAT and the score was 8 to 8 with 3:00 left in the first half of play. Sayre failed to gain a first down after the ensuing kickoff when a fourth down play came up 2 yards short at the Merritt 41. Merritt then turned things around when QB Jones electrified the crowd with a 57 yard TD strike to Crompton on the Oiler second play from scrimmage after taking possession at their own 41. Their PAT attempt was stopped short on a tackle by Dustin McSorley and just like that the Oilers took control of the contest at 14 to 8 with 1:09 left in the first half. Sayre was penalized twice for 10 yards each in the remaining time of the half. The game was marred by penalties all night when Sayre received 13 penalties for 120 yards and Merritt 12 for 111 yards.
Merritt received the second half kickoff and things suddenly looked bleak for the Eagles when the Oilers scored on a 44 yard TD pass from Jones to Mos Flowers on the second play of their possession. Brock Helton made the stop on the Merritt PAT attempt leaving the score at 20 to 8 with 11:20 left in the third quarter.
Zane Allen returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards from the Eagle 10 to the 40 yard line. Sayre ground out a drive to the Merritt 26 in 10 plays where a fourth down pass fell incomplete. The Oilers took possession from the 26 and moved the ball to their own 36 where Sayre was assessed a 15 yard penalty that advanced the ball to the Eagle 49 yard line. It was at this point in the contest that the momentum of the game changed. On a first and ten play from the Sayre 49. Compton gained 7 yards but Z. Allen stripped the ball loose from Compton and returned the fumble 24 yards to the Oiler 34 yard line. From the 34 Sayres pile driving running back A. Hendershot rushed 3 times for 32 yards to the Oiler 2 yard line. Merritt was assessed a one yard penalty on the next play to move the ball to the one yard line. On the next play J. Mosser slanted into the end zone for the touchdown. Hendershot ran for the 2 point conversion and Sayre had closed the Oiler lead to 20 to 14 with 1:37 left in the third quarter.
After the ensuing kickoff the Eagle defense prevented a Merritt first down on their next possession. On fourth down Dawson Michel punted 19 yards to the Sayre 27. With renewed energy the Eagles drove 73 yards in only 6 plays to tie the score at 20 to 20. J. Mosser was the big catalyst in that possession when he made a 21 yard run and later a 22 yard run for the TD. Hendershot ran across the 2 point PAT and Sayre had taken the lead 22 to 20 with 8:29 left in the fourth quarter.
After the ensuing kickoff the Oilers seemed to have a successful drive started when they gained 2 first downs for 20 yards to the Eagle 45. But their opportunity left them when a fumble was recovered by Zeke Curtis at the Eagle 45. The Eagle momentum continued as they drove 55 yards in 8 plays to extend their lead to 28 to 20. Hendershot charged ahead the final 12 yards of the drive. He then ran for the PAT and the score was 30 to 20 with 2:49 left to play in the game. Following the ensuing kickoff the Sayre defense shut the Oiler offense down to a negative 4 yards in 4 plays. Three plays later the game ended with Eagles posting their second win of the season. Sayre now has 2 wins 4 loses for the season and Merritts’ record is 2 wins 5 losses. Sayre will entertain Mooreland for their homecoming game this Friday on the Eagle field while Merritt will travel to Thomas for their next contest . EAGLES STATS MERRITT 17 First Downs 13 59/344 Rushing Yards 22/80
2/3/12 Passing Yards 7/13/148 356 Total Yards 228 0 Turnovers 2 13/120 Penalties 12/111 1/32 Punts 3/102/34.0 RUSHING A. Hendershot 27/162 J. Mosser 14/130 Z. Curtis 9/29 D. McSorley 3/8 C. Capehart 2/7 D. Mosser 1/3 H. Hanrahan 1/3 R. Johnston 2/2 TACKLES B. Helton 8 A. Hendershot 8 D. Mosser 6 H. Hanrahan 5 Z. Curtis 4 D. McSorley 4 C. Capehart 3 C. Plummer 2 Z. Allen 2 Others 3
