In a game that was going to be a true showing of who these teams are, the Southern Door Eagles proved to be the better team as they nearly shut out the Sturgeon Bay Clippers in a 28-8 win Friday night at Memorial Field.
It was not the cleanest game for either side, but the Eagles led from the beginning. They took the ball after winning the coin toss, and on the first drive of the game, Raymond Paye scored on a 3-yard run to put the Eagles ahead for good, 7-0, after a successful extra-point kick by Kody Wagaman. After a three-and-out and punt by Sturgeon Bay, Paye got another carry but fumbled the ball, with the Clippers' Scott Anderson recovering.
The Clippers gave the ball right back to the Eagles, however. On the first play of the drive, Rayshaun Johnson lost the ball, and it was recovered by the Eagles' Jackson Wagner. Starting with the ball inside the red zone, the Eagles looked to capitalize with a touchdown. On fourth down, Caleb Delwiche ran toward the first-down marker as a flag flew. The penalty was against the Eagles, so after requesting a measurement to determine whether to accept or decline the penalty, the Clippers got the ball back after stopping Delwiche inches short.
Though the Clippers got out of the shadow of their own goal post, the drive ended with a punt. They got the ball back when Sam Hansen intercepted Delwiche early in the Eagles' next drive.
The turnovers were not over. Johnson lost another fumble to Paye, who then fumbled on offense to give the ball back to Sturgeon Bay. Each team then turned the ball over on downs.
The final score of the half came in the closing minute when Delwiche had a pass tipped by a Clippers defender in the end zone, leading to an impressive diving touchdown grab by Jackson Wagner and a 14-0 halftime lead.
After a handful of punts to start the third quarter, Lance Veeser found the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown run, putting the Eagles ahead 21-0. Delwiche rushed for a 5-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap the Eagles' scoring, but the chaos was far from over.
Trygg Stuth scrambled to the left but lost the ball on a fumble, which the Eagles returned nearly 30 yards. Even though there were holding calls against each team on the play, the result stood, giving the Eagles the ball inside Clippers territory.
The Clippers' defense did its job, preventing the Eagles from scoring after four tries from inside the 10-yard line. On the first play of the Clippers' final drive, Stuth lofted the ball to Alex Boden, who shook off the initial defender and outran the rest of the defense for an 89-yard touchdown, the Clippers' only score of the night. Stuth found Jack Higgenbotham on the 2-point conversion to make the final score 28-8.
Each team will play Thursday night next week. The Eagles host Oconto Falls, while the Sturgeon Bay Clippers hit the road to take on Bonduel. The Clippers game can once again be heard on U-102.1 and the NEW Radio Sports Network.
