Eagles Soar Over Rush Springs, 54-6

WATONGA — In its first two games, Watonga won comfortably but had to overcome major second-half adversity to pull away.

That wasn’t the case on Friday night, as the Eagles celebrated their 2021 home opener with a 54-6 romp over the Rush Springs Redskins. Watonga held Rush Springs scoreless through three quarters, not allowing a touchdown until early in the fourth when the Eagles had inserted their backups into the game.

Watonga passed all over the Redskins defense while holding Rush Springs’ rushers in check. Quarterback Joe Jackson threw for 204 yards on the night and had six total touchdowns.

Receiver Deondre Dunn gained 100 yards with two touchdown catches, and Chris Sanders tacked on 85 yards and two scores. Dunn also returned a punt for a touchdown in the first quarter

Ṫhe Eagles won the toss and deferred to Rush Springs, but the Redskins couldn’t move the ball against Watonga on their first drive. Watonga took over on its own 35; just over a minute later, the Eagles scored. The drive was capped by a long, 45-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to Sanders.

Watonga managed another first-quarter touchdown when Dunn took a poor Rush Spring punt to the house from around midfield. But its offense stalled on the subsequent two drives, with a failed fourth-down play followed by a Jackson interception.

The offense turned things around in the second quarter, though; it scored four touchdowns on four possessions, including two touchdowns in 23 seconds when Rush Springs fumbled a kickoff return with about 9:20 left in the half, giving Watonga the ball at the Redskins 24. That drive was over in one play, another Jackson-to-Sanders connection.

By the end of the third quarter, with Watonga pulling away 48-0, head coach Skylar Watson let his starters rest and let Trenton Cole step in under center. The junior made his own mark on the game, connecting with Chiloh Whiteshirt for a 32-yard score in the third quarter for Watonga’s final points of the game.

Rush Springs’ garbagetime TD in the fourth quarter couldn’t stop the party in Watonga, as the Eagles now celebrate a 3-0 start with one game left to go before conference play begins. Eagles fans “dragged” Noble after the game, driving up and down the street and honking in jubilation.

Watson said he was happy with his team on Friday. “Right now, we’re just trying to work on consistency and continuing to play hard for four quarters,” Watson said, “so I was really impressed with the way our guys came out and continued to fight until the very end.”

The Eagles hit the road again this Friday night for a showdown with the Minco Bulldogs. Minco is 1-1 this season and is coming off a 48-6 loss to Cashion.

The game starts at 7 p.m.