Eagles hold off Panthers in thriller 31-27

Sep 18, 2016 9:35 AM Sep 19, 2016 11:13 AM

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BETHALTO – Saturday night's Mississippi Valley Conference opener between Jersey and Civic Memorial was as good as advertised.

The two MVC rivals were like boxers in a title fight, standing toe-to-toe in the center of the ring, neither one willing to give an inch, both seeking to land the knockout blow.

In the end, it was the Eagles that scored the knockout – though it didn't come easy and the Panthers nearly landed a last-second blow that would have sent CM to the canvas.

It came in the form of a 2-yard touchdown plunge by Corey Price with 5:46 to go in the final quarter, with David Lane tacking on a two-point convert when the Eagles faked kicking for one. Price's plunge gave CM a 31-27 win over the Panthers. But Jersey had one final shot at glory in the final minute after recovering a fumble as the Eagles were trying to run out the clock, Drew Sauerwein throwing a pair of passes to the CM goal line, one that bounced around before finally falling incomplete and another that was immediately knocked down by the Eagle defense to preserve the win.

The win put CM at 3-1 overall, 1-0 in the Valley; the Panthers fell to 1-3, 0-1 in the league.

“We were tired and run down (late in the game), and we kept battling. I couldn't be any more proud of our kids,” CM coach Mike Parmentier said. “It was just a really exciting football game tonight; we were glad to be a part of it on the winning side, and my hat's off to (Panther) coach (Jon) Adkins. What a great team they have. It was a great ball game tonight – the fans got their money's worth.

“We're happy to be 3-1 and happy to get started in the Valley with a league win.”

Adkins, for his part, was proud of the effort his team gave. “I told the kids, 'man, do we compete', and we fight hard to the end and never give up,” Adkins said. “Unfortunately, the scoreboard didn't show what we wanted, but I had a lot of fun tonight. Our kids played hard tonight and had a chance at the end, and as a coach, as a fan, that's all you can ask for, a chance at the end.

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“The kids did that, and I'm very proud of them.”

An early turning point may have come in the first term, when the Eagles stuffed the Panthers on fourth-and-1 after Sauerwein nearly scored on third down from the Eagle 6, stretching out to break the plane of the goal line for a touchdown but falling just short. The Eagles took possession at their one and marched 99 yards for the opening touchdown, chewing up the remainder of the first quarter in the process.

Brayden Pierce scored early in the second term to finish off the drive, running in from nine yards out for a 7-0 CM lead following the Trevor Paynik convert. Jersey answered right away on a Brandon Baalman four-yard run with 8:44 left in the half to tie things up. Back the Eagles came, grabbing the lead back on a five-yard pass from Pierce to Price with 3:32 left to go; the convert attempt failed and CM held a 13-7 lead at the long change.

Both the Eagles and Panthers traded scores and the lead in the third term, the highlight coming when Sauerwein called his own number on a draw and took off 75 yards to the end zone, pulling the Panthers to 23-21, then taking the lead in the final minute of the term when Sauerwein hit Blake Wittman for a 44-yard touchdown to put Jersey up 27-23.

All that set up Price's game-winner with 5:46 left in the final quarter and Lane's two-point convert run. The game seemed well in hand down the stretch after the Eagles had gained possession, but a miscue on a handoff led to a fumble that the Panthers recovered at midfield to put them into business.

Sauerwein fired a pair of passes in the final 10 seconds that turned into a tip drill at least once, the ball eventually falling to the ground and the Eagle defense eventually knocked down the final pass to hold on to the win.

Price led CM's rushers with 16 carried for 106 yards; Lane had five catches for 47 yards to lead receivers and Pierce went 8-for-14 for 84 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles head to Mascoutah next week, while the Panthers host Triad; both games are set for 7 p.m. Friday.