The Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton Bearcats rolled into Saline County Friday night to take on the Eldorado Eagles in the 2008 season opener, shutting out their BDC counterparts 28-0.
The Bearcats entered the 2008 season hoping to improve on last season’s 3-6 record. Eldorado kicked off to the Bearcats to start the game. CZR, behind junior quarterback Tyler Mitchell and a platoon of running backs, took six minutes off the clock on its first possession with Kyle Ferguson and Derrick Threadgill handling the running duties on the first series.
The first quarter saw both team’s opening-game nerves as there were back-to-back penalties. After a failed fourth down attempt, Hudson Vantrease punted for the Bearcats, which was almost blocked by the Eagles, and Eldorado took over at its own 25-yard line.
The Eagles marched to a quick first down with two quick passes from Dakota Creamer to Gabe Schimp. After two failed run attempts and an incomplete pass, the Eagles were facing fourth and long. On back-to-back punt attempts, the Eagles were called for false start penalties pushing the Eagles deeper into their end of the field. The third attempt was finally successful and the Bearcats let the ball roll and be downed by Eldorado.
After two quick series for both teams, the first quarter ended with neither team scoring a point.
The Bearcats started the second quarter looking a little more focused. After some missed coverages on punt returns and in the passing game, the players were in the right positions at the right time. Chase Fann and Hudson Vantrease knocked down several passes in the quarter stopping the Eagles from some big plays.
CZR was the first team to score as 5 foot 7 senior running back Kyle Ferguson broke a play to the right side of the field and ran in 35 yards for the first touchdown of the night. Ferguson finished with 81 yards for the night. Chase Fann kicked the extra point to make the score 7-0 Bearcats at the 10:36 mark of the second quarter.
After another long kickoff for Chase Fann, who averaged 52 yards per kickoff, the Eagles were once again called for a false start penalty. Creamer hit teammate Nick Houseright for a 19-yard pass. On the tackle, CZR’s Jimmy Stevens was called for unsportsmanlike conduct as he held onto the Eldorado player too long out of bounds. The Eagles then found themselves with a first down at the CZR 20 yard line. Creamer took the next snap and was looking for the touchdown, but Tyler Mitchell intercepted the pass in the end zone.
The Bearcats used a punishing rushing attack from the four-headed monster of Mitchell, Threadgill, Ferguson, and Vantrease to march the ball down the field. New Eldorado head coach Brandon Hampton was not happy with the officials in the first half and, after being warned a couple of times, was called for unsportsmanlike conduct by the sideline judge. The Bearcats took four minutes off the clock as they marched the ball 70 yards down the field. The drive finally ended with Hudson Vantrease scoring on a 1 yard run. The snap for the PAT was bobbled and Tyler Mitchell scrambled trying to find a teammate for the 2-point conversion but his pass to Vantrease was incomplete. This left the score 13-0 Bearcats at the 3:38 mark in the second quarter.
After a 3-and-out drive for the Eagles, the Bearcats took over at their own 42-yard line trying to get a third score before halftime. Mitchell took the snap at the 50-yard line and ran a quarterback keeper gaining 15 yards. Mitchell was unable to get out of bounds and the Bearcats were forced to use their final time out. Threadgill then took the next couple of handoffs, getting the Bearcats closer and closer to the end zone. Mitchell was hit on the next play by an Eldorado player and had to leave the game at the end of the first half, but he would return later. CZR tried to get the ball in the end zone, but Eldorado stopped the Bearcats on fourth down and took over around the 20-yard line. With just a few seconds left before halftime, the Eagles looked for one more play. The Bearcats were thinking pass, but the Eagles handed off to Keith Morrison and he rushed 20 yards before being tackled around midfield leaving the halftime score 13-0 in favor of the Bearcats.
The second half started strong for the Bearcats. After kicking off to the Eagles, Eldorado was able to get a first down and a couple of more penalties were called on the Bearcats, including a pass interference call at midfield. Eldorado was unable to move the ball any further and punted back to the Bearcats.
With the Eagles wearing out, Coach Batts unleashed the big man on the Eagles. Derrick Threadgill, 6’1” 240 pounds was let loose and ran all over the Eagles. The Bearcats punishing ground attack was just too much for the Eagles. Threadgill reached the end zone in the third on a10 yard run. Tyler Mitchell ran in the PAT for a two-point conversion raising the score to 21-0.
During the third quarter, the Eagles stopped their passing attack and tried to run the ball against the Bearcats but were unable to. The fourth quarter proved to look a lot like the third and Threadgill added a second touchdown at the 2-minute mark and Fann kicked his second PAT to make the score 28-0.
Threadgill led the Bearcats with 222 yards rushing while Kyle Ferguson added 81 and Vantrease 52. The Bearcats finished with 400 total yards, all rushing, while Eldorado finished with 131 total yards.
The Bearcats (1-0, 1-0 BDC) will host Johnston City next Friday at Spann Field while the Eagles (0-1, 0-1 BDC) head to Elverado-Trico.
“I am pretty happy with the group effort.,” C-Z-R coach Nick Batts said. “We communicated well with each other on the field.
“Although we had a lot of silly penalties (50 yards), I will take them in a win,” he added. “The first game jitters showed in the first half and we really stepped it up in the second. The effort was excellent tonight. We feel we are a good team and hope we can change that into a great team as the season progresses.”
Eldorado, Ill. —
