Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse football team went to Sunnyside Christian last Friday and came back with a 42-32 loss.
The Eagles cut the Sunnyside Christian lead to 36-32 with two minutes left in the game before the Knights scored on a 33-yard run to seal the victory.
“It was one of the better games I’ve ever coached. The seniors played their guts out,” said SJEL coach Rich Hallenius.
After a spate of injuries last week in practice and during the game, backups filled in such as freshmen Tanner Fleming and Brennan Gonzales at defensive back and Kotah Wheeler on the line.
“The cool thing is we were still competitive,” said Hallenius.
At quarterback, senior Trey Fleming returned to his old position after Dylan Campbell did not make the trip to Sunnyside. Fleming went out on concussion protocol in the third quarter and junior running back Doug Stach took his place.
Before Fleming went out, he threw a short pass to big man Kameron Greenhalgh, no. 75, lined up at split end. Greenhalgh caught it and lateraled to Stach, who ran for a touchdown.
“That started some momentum, and then picked up more when Trey got hurt,” said Hallenius.
In the end, at running back, Stach ran for 127 yards on 13 carries. Chase Anderson ran for 103 yards, also on 13 carries, for two touchdowns.
Wyatt Walker had three receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, brothers Trey and Tanner Fleming both had an interception.
The loss dropped SJEL to 1-2 (1-1 league) on the season, but the close game with the formerly dominant Knights struck a chord.
“A lot of our fans were really jacked about it,” said Hallenius.
The Eagles play Colton Friday at 7 p.m. at home in St. John in a rematch. The Eagles won 48-26 at Colton Sept. 6 in both teams’ season opener.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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