It was crazy. We made it hard on ourselves. Just couldn’t finish for some reason. Markiece Gibson, he’s our MVP, He’s played great all year. He’s tackled, played a bunch of different positions, it’s incredible. He’s a great kid. – Doyle Holt, Eagles head coach
LAYTON--The Layton Christian Eagles welcomed the Gunnison Bulldogs to Wilson Field Friday night in prep football action. It was homecoming for the Eagles and the Eagles were set on preventing the Bulldogs from spoiling their fun.
The game started under cloudy and rainy conditions. The Eagles stuck first as Jack Chandler darted across the goal line. The Eagles successfully converted the two point conversion as they took an 8-0 lead into halftime.
The Eagles who controlled most of the first half, only managed to put eight points on the scoreboard.
“We didn’t capitalize on opportunities we had in the red zone. We have to score in the red zone,” said Eagles head coach Doyle Holt.
Assistant coach Hiney focused on another aspect of the game. “We’ve got to fix penalties. We’ve got to stay disciplined. That’s pretty much it. Stay disciplined, lower our penalties and we’ll be alright. We’ll get on the scoreboard.”
The second half began under sunny skies. Eagles quarterback Grayson Jackson, added another touchdown midway through the 3rd quarter with a short run up the middle. This time however, the two point conversion came up short.
The Bulldogs then found new life and a resurgent ground game. The Eagles saw a steady diet of Gunnison’s running back Jayden Rogers and quarterback Tyson Moosman. The Bulldogs scored their first points on a one yard plunge. The extra point by Bulldog kicker Enrique Gonzalez was good as the Bulldogs narrowed the score.
The Eagles responded with a touchdown as Markiece Gibson broke through several tackles and ran down the right side. The extra point was no good as the Eagles led 20-14.
The Bulldogs never gave up and pushed the contest deep into the 4th quarter. “We battled back there in the end but too little too late,” said Bulldog’s head coach Yori Ludvigson.
And that’s how the game would end. Eagles defeated the Bulldogs 20-14.
The keys to the game was the consistent play of the Eagles interior line (both offensive and defensive), Bulldog turnovers, as well as a strong running game. Eagle defensive back Austin Woodard picked off the Bulldog quarterback twice.
Eagle tailback Chandler Eagle remarked “The offensive line really stepped up and pushed when we needed to.”
“We came out right in the beginning and smacked them in the mouth and maybe set them back a little bit and we kept going. It’s all eleven hats out there going to the ball and fighting as a team, we just dominated,” said junior lineman Josh Nistler.
Ludvigson commented on the overall contest “We came out and played a hard team. Layton Christian looked good. They played aggressive. We had three turnovers in the first half and we had nine last week. Until you fix that it’s hard to win.”
As for Eagle head coach Holt “It was crazy. We made it hard on ourselves. Just couldn’t finish for some reason. Markiece Gibson, he’s our MVP, He’s played great all year. He’s tackled, played a bunch of different positions, it’s incredible. He’s a great kid.”
The Eagles improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in region play. Layton Christian travels to Coalville and take on the Braves of North Summit next week.
Gary Czenkus is an Air Force veteran. EMAIL: zman2206@gmail.com