8-0 Pearl Cohn @ 6-2 Independence

[FIREBIRD80]

5 hours ago, FBfan26 said:

I dont think Indy seen that much pressure all year 

Facts 

[MJGOLDENBEARS]

Congrats to PC, They are the best metro has to offer by a mile.

[FBfan26]

39 minutes ago, MJGOLDENBEARS said:

Congrats to PC, They are the best metro has to offer by a mile.

I think that was sarcastic coming from you bear lol

[FBfan26]

Scott Blade knew his Independence team would have to play mistake-free football to have a chance to contend with Class 3A power Pearl-Cohn.

The Eagles were unable to produce such a performance Friday night, putting a damper on senior night festivities with a 27-6 loss.

Ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Class 3A poll, the Firebirds got on the board quickly. Holding the hosts to a three-and-out possession to open the game, Pearl-Cohn took advantage of an errant punt snap to set up a three-play, 4-yard scoring drive with Martino Owens throwing to Cedric Watkins for the early score.

 

Following another quick three-and-out by the Eagles offense, Pearl-Cohn put together a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The 15-yard touchdown pass from Owens to Danmion Allen came on fourth-and-3.

“We struggled to get off the field on third and fourth downs at times in the first half,” Blade said.

On the Firebirds’ next drive — following the third consecutive three-and-out for Independence (6-3) — Owens and the running back tandem of Kyndrich Breedlove and Iven Dayton orchestrated a 19-play, 78-yard drive that ended in a Breedlove touchdown. The drive was aided by a pair of fourth-down conversions, one by penalty.

The Firebirds (9-0) were three-for-three on fourth-down conversions in the first half.

“We played decent (on defense),” senior linebacker Jackson Reidling said. “We have to do a better job getting off the field and we can’t jump offsides when we have them on fourth down.”

Defensively, Indy held the Firebirds to just 199 total yards of offense, with 153 of those yards coming on the two touchdown drives. The final Pearl-Cohn score came on the opening kickoff of the second half, when Barion Brown took a squib kick 85 yards to pay dirt.

“Credit Pearl-Cohn for taking advantage of our mistakes, but two special teams blunders were a big difference in this game,” Blade said.

Much of the Eagles’ woes offensively were due to dropped passes and untimely penalties. Senior wide receiver Chayce Bishop struggled to find a grip on the ball in the first half, prompting the Eagles to use newer footballs in the second half. Bishop did haul in the lone touchdown pass of the game in the second half. He left the game with a lower right leg injury, and was carried off the field by the training staff. His status is unknown.

Quarterback Ethan Cash uncharacteristically completed just 6-of-27 pass attempts in the game for 52 yards with a touchdown and one interception. Due to issues snapping the ball and a couple of negative yardage plays, Indy had just 10 total yards of offense in the first half. The Eagles tallied 145 yards in the second half, but found the end zone just once.

With time running out in the second quarter, Indy was driving to cut the lead down to 13 points, but a dropped pass on fourth down killed the drive. Another drive in the second half was stalled by a low snap that lost 13 yards, and Indy added a personal foul penalty as well on the drive.

“You can’t come out and give your opponent every opportunity and then not capitalize when you have your chances,” Blade said.

The Eagles will need to rebound quickly as they travel to Ravenwood in Week 11 for a chance to earn a home playoff game. The winner of next week’s contest will finish in second place of Region 6-6A, while the loser will take third place.

“We need to have a short memory from this one, and start preparing for Ravenwood on Monday,” Blade said.

[FIREBIRD80]

2 hours ago, MJGOLDENBEARS said:

Congrats to PC, They are the best metro has to offer by a mile.

 Appreciate that!!! Our coaching staff better win metro coach of the year. Brunetti and staff has never won that award now that's crazy.

[workinprogress]

Voting gets very political. Sometimes adults can act like children. I'll leave it at that.

[FIREBIRD80]

1 hour ago, workinprogress said:

Voting gets very political. Sometimes adults can act like children. I'll leave it at that.

I see!!!

[RecordBook]

Shaping up to be a special year for Pearl! Keep it rolling fellas!

[eers]

Could this be the Pearl team to beat Alcoa??

[workinprogress]

Could it be....sure. But I'm guessing PC is just worried about who is next. Can't look ahead. 

[FBfan26]

1 hour ago, eers said:

Could this be the Pearl team to beat Alcoa??

Cant even think about Alcoa. We got Giles this week and Stewart County for the first rd of the playoffs. 

[FIREBIRD80]

41 minutes ago, FBfan26 said:

Cant even think about Alcoa. We got Giles this week and Stewart County for the first rd of the playoffs. 

Facts!!! Alcoa haven't even crossed our minds. Giles standing in the way of PC making history again. First it was beating MBA and now trying to be first team in PC history to go 10-0. So focus is definitely on Giles County!!!