Eagles Football Drops Road Game to Green Terror
WESTMINSTER, MD- After a historic 2-0 start, the Juniata football team dropped their first match of the season on the road to the McDaniel University Green Terror, 24-7.
A scoreless first quarter saw both defenses stand on their heads, as the Eagles failed a field goal attempt on their first drive and Tucker Lowery intercepted the Green Terror on the following drive to give the Eagles the ball to start the second quarter.
A nice punt return put McDaniel in scoring position early after the Eagles punted away, facing a 4th & 18 their first drive in the second quarter. The defense held the scoring to three though as McDaniel was forced into a field goal attempt. The teams then traded punts and the Eagles began a drive at their own 13-yard line with 8:20 remaining in the half. A 26-yard completion from Ethan Eisenberg to Brysen Delaney converted a key third down for the Eagles, and Ivan Foreman rushed forward for five yards on a 4th & 1 later in the drive. Approaching the redzone, the Eagles ran six straight rushing plays until Foreman took one into the endzone from three yards out to put the Eagles up 7-3. Damiyr Martinez made another quick interception for the Eagles, but neither team were able to add to the score in the reamining minutes of the first half, and the Eagles took their 7-3 lead into the locker room.
The Green Terror converted a turnover off of a 16-yard rush on 4th & 1 after the Eagles received the kickoff in the third quarter, and they had quickly flipped the script to lead 7-10. The ensuing Juniata drive led to a. 4th & 4 where the Eagles were forced to punt, forcing the Green Terror to start again from their own 12-yard line. The second play of the drive saw them break a 62-yard rush down the field though, and they would end up rushing into the endzone again to take a 7-16 lead.
The next two offensive drives resulted in turnovers on downs for the Eagles, taking them into a do-or-die situation in the fourth quarter. Sadly, the Green Terror converted two fourth downs in the fourth quarter in a drive lasting over six minutes and resulting in another touchdown. A two-point conversion made the score 7-24, and that would be the last scoring of the day as the Eagles were unable to muster up any offense late.
Foreman led the way on offense for the Eagles with 72 rushing yards in addition to the touchdown. Delaney's 26-yard catch led the Eagles in receiving off of Eisenberg's 38 yards through the air. Lowery and Martinez's interceptions led the way on defense as Ethan Shank contributed a team-high 10 total tackles.
Now 2-1, the Eagles will go on the road again next Saturday at 3:00 p.m. to face the Lions at The College of New Jersey.