‘They never cease to amaze me.’ Eagle defense suffocates Rocky to snap losing streak
The Eagle High football team could muster only seven points Friday night.
But that’s all it needed.
The Mustangs’ defense delivered another dominant performance, carrying No. 1-ranked Eagle to a 7-3 win over No. 4 Rocky Mountain in the Herb Criner Bowl. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Mustangs’ chief rival.
“They never cease to amaze me,” Eagle (3-0) coach James Cluphf said of his defense. “They keep coming up in big-time moments. They’ve been doing it all year.
“They had their backs against the wall a couple times tonight, and they absolutely impressed me. The size of their heart and the grit that they have is unbelievable.”
Rocky Mountain (2-2) cycled through three quarterbacks, a no-huddle offense and countless personnel packages searching for a spark. But Eagle held the Grizzlies to 212 yards and a 28-yard Shawn Thompson field goal.
“Our team balled out,” Eagle senior defensive back Eli Mikita said. “We came together. Our defense had some great stops, and it feels great to finally come out with the win.”
Rocky Mountain didn’t earn a single first down or get past its own 35-yard line until the final two minutes of the first half. That’s when the Grizzlies mounted a 17-play, 87-yard drive for their only points.
Eagle scored its touchdown on the game’s opening possession when Noah Burnham (19 carries, 110 yards) punched it in from a yard out. The Mustangs fell quiet from there, haunted by 13 penalties for 145 yards. They gained just two first downs in the second half.
But it didn’t matter. The defense rode to the rescue each time, coming up with four fourth-down stops, including three in the second half, to capture the Herb Criner Bowl trophy for the first time since 2016.
“Us seniors, we’ve been fighting for this since freshman year,” Eagle senior defensive back Makeo Sneddon said. “This is all we wanted. We wanted to beat Rocky. That’s the main thing we were looking for, especially this week, one game at a time.”
ROCKY MOUNTAIN LEADERS
Senior Cam Crum made his debut as the starting quarterback and finished 12-for-21 for 81 yards. Gunnar Thompson, Rocky Mountain’s starter the first three weeks, came off the bench in the fourth quarter to try to engineer a rally. But he went 2-for-8 for 21 yards.
Jaryn Ikebe served as both Crum’s and Thompson’s top target, hauling in six passes for 30 yards.
Rocky Mountain squandered its best chance to find the end zone in the fourth quarter. Facing fourth-and-1 at the Mustangs’ 18-yard line with 8:33 left, the Grizzlies committed a false start penalty and then had a delay of game. Crum then threw an incompletion on fourth-and-11.
UP NEXT
Eagle travels to Owyhee (3-1, 1-1) next week to resume its 5A SIC River Division schedule. The Storm upset No. 3 Mountain View 24-17 on Thursday night, tossing a wrench into the River Division race.
Rocky Mountain takes a bye week after two straight losses. The Grizzlies next face Centennial (0-3) on the road Sept. 21.
This story was originally published September 8, 2023 at 11:05 PM.
