Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
John Hergert secures a pass from SJEL Quarterback Matthew DeFord.
ST. JOHN - Feathers flew as Eagles fought with the St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse (SJEL) Eagles defeating the Yakama Nation Eagles 32-30 on Oct. 29.
SJEL took the lead in the first half and held on to win at home for homecoming. All five SJEL touchdowns came in the first two quarters and they were unable to add any points in the second half.
"We had a great first half," said SJEL Eagles Coach John Hergert. "I don't know if it was a combination of their defense making the adjustment ... or we just came out cold in the second half ... We just couldn't get our offense running."
Both teams scored on their opening drives. SJEL's first touchdown was an 8-yard run by Brennen Gonzalez.
Their second touchdown started as a third down. Running back Tanner Fleming was given the ball and he passed it to quarterback Matthew DeFord who ran the ball 79 yards for a touchdown. DeFord ran a quarterback sneak to drive the ball into the end zone for the only successful 2-point conversion for SJEL.
"It was well executed," said Hergert. "It was an impressive quarterback sneak because of all our guys were shoving. It was a rugby score is what it was. It was a scrum."
In the second quarter, SJEL scored on a 57-yard pass from DeFord to Austin Stanley.
DeFord connected with Stanley again for a 15-yard pass that Stanley ran 60 yards for another touchdown. It was a 75-yard pass completion.
SJEL's final touchdown was another DeFord pass. Joseph Hergert caught it 20 yards downfield near the sideline, turned, and ran for another 40 yards for a touchdown.
Yakama Nation scored 16 points in the second half. SJEL stepped up the defense to slow down their opponents.
A crucial first down was earned when Landen Miller ran for 5 yards on a 4 down with 3 yards to go. SJEL was able to run out the clock to win.
"As far as our boys are concerned, I can't say enough about making stands on defense when we needed it most," said coach Hergert. "It was a team effort, holding together, and making tackles when we needed to."
SJEL (1-5) is facing the last game of their season on Friday against the DeSales Irish in Walla Walla. The Eagles season was cut short by three games due to COVID precautions.
"We made a lot of improvement since the start of the season," said coach Hergert. "We had our players step up when we needed them to step up."
Bill Stevenson is the former editor of the Whitman County Gazette, Colfax Daily Bulletin and Franklin Connection. He has nearly 30 years of journalism experience covering news in Eastern Washington.
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