Eagles Fall in State Semi-Final
By: Wm. Michael Dixon
Tribune Recorder Leader
The Deckerville Eagles traveled to Adrian last Saturday to take on the Lenawee Christian Cougars for a state semi-final matchup. The game started off slow, remaining scoreless until Deckerville broke the ice on a 14-yard run from quarterback Hunter Garza with five minutes to go in the first quarter. Garza found Chase Lamont in the end zone for the conversion to give Deckerville an 8-0 lead. Lenawee got their offense going and quickly responded to Deckerville’s score, falling short on the conversion to shrink the deficit to two. Lenawee scored again and this time converted on the two-point attempt to take a six-point lead. The Cougars found their way into the end zone once more before the end of the first half, this time kicking the PAT to bring the score to 21-8 with just seconds to go in the half. Deckerville lined up for their offense but too much time had expired, and they went into halftime trailing Lenawee 21-8. Lenawee’s offense really started clicking in the second half, running the score up with three more touchdowns and three more PATs to give them an insurmountable lead.
The Eagles gave it one more shot though, with Hunter Garza finding David Shanks twenty yards down field for the touchdown and final score of the contest. The Eagles played the Cougars closer than the final score might lead one to believe, with the Eagles holding the lead for the majority of the first half. T The Eagles offense was moving the ball down the field with ease, but a couple of costly turnovers in the red zone were enough to turn the tide in Lenawee’s favor. Dylan Ball chewed up the bulk of the yardage on the ground rushing for 138 yards on 31 carries. Hunter Garza also had a good day offensively, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and going 11-22 in the air for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Logan Martin had some big catches for the Eagles, hauling in six passes for a total of 83 yards. David Shanks only had his number called twice in the game but was able to capitalize with a 20-yard touchdown reception.
Deckerville’s outstanding season and post-season run unfortunately comes to a close, but the boys should be proud of their efforts after finishing as the third or fourth best team in the state.
