It was a cold night on the football field, and a cold game for the East Jackson Eagles, as they closed out their season with a loss to Union County, 35-6.
Neither team could seem to find traction for most of the first quarter, with the ball staying primarily around mid-field for the first 11 and a half minutes of play.
The Panthers drew first blood, finally making their way into Eagle territory before breaking through to the East Jackson end zone to take a 7-0 lead with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Eagles looked to answer in the second quarter, but just ten seconds in, East Jackson lost the ball on a fumble, giving Union possession deep in Eagle territory.
The Panthers would capitalize on the opportunity just 20 seconds later, running their second touchdown of the night in with 11:28 left in the half, making it a 14-0 lead.
Both teams would again search for traction, but neither could find their way into the other’s end zone, and when the buzzer sounded at the half, the score remained 14-0 in favor of Union County.
The Eagles again looked for an opportunity to make up some ground early in the third quarter, but a fumble on a hand off was recovered by Union County and run back for the third Panther touchdown of the night, making it a 21-0 game.
East Jackson finally got on the board with just under eight minutes left in the quarter, as C.J. Allen pushed his way through the Union defense to score. The extra point attempt was blocked, however, making it 21-6.
The Eagle surge was short lived, however, as the Panthers scored their fourth touchdown of the night with five minutes left in the quarter to make it 28-6.
East Jackson remained cold in the fourth quarter, as Union County scored against with just over ten and a half minutes left to play on a 40 yard touchdown pass to make it 35-6.
Things looked up for the Eagles with eight minutes left to play, as East Jackson recovered a Panther fumble on the East Jackson 25-yard line. The Eagles were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, however, and punted the ball away.
After going back and forth again, with neither team able to score, the final buzzer sounded to end the game and the season with Union County winning 35-6.
East Jackson’s season ended with a 2-5 region record, and 3-6 overall.
For more on this story, see the Nov. 10 edition of The Commerce News or The Jackson Herald.
