Fort Recovery snaps Eastern’s undefeated season
By: Rylee Drees
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BEAVER, Ohio (WOUB) – It was an exciting night of regional quarterfinals in Beaver, Ohio, where Fort Recovery went on the road to face Eastern High School. Fort Recovery was looking to upset a powerful 10-0 Eastern team, while Eastern hoped to build on its dominant season so far to keep moving forward in the playoffs. Ultimately, it was Fort Recovery coming out on top with a 38-6 victory.
Fort Recovery started with the ball on offense but could not find its way to the first-down marker against the tough Eastern defense. They decided to punt, and the ball was in Eastern’s possession for the first time of the night. The punt recovery was down at the Eagles’ 31-yard line, but after a few attempts downfield, they were unable to pass their 37. Both teams brought out their strong defenses to start.
With the ball back in Fort Recovery’s hands, it was able to get its first first down of the night thanks to Alex Gaerke. A 54-yard rush by Breaker Jutte gave Fort Recovery its first points of the night, making the score 7-0 with just 6:35 left in the first quarter.
The ball was given back to Eastern, but unfortunately, they were once again unable to reach the first-down marker. They punted to Fort Recovery, where the ball was marked at their own 27. A 35-yard completion to Brody Barga put Fort Recovery at the other end of the field with another opportunity to score. Jutte was once again in the end zone for Fort Recovery, this time on a 38-yard pass. The extra point was no good, but Fort Recovery was leading Eastern 13-0 before the end of the first quarter.
To start the second, Eastern turned the ball back over to Fort Recovery. After the punt recovery, Fort Recovery wasted no time scoring again. A 54-yard pass completion to Colson Post gave Fort Recovery an even bigger lead of 19-0 with 9:43 left in the first half.
Eastern got the ball back and secured its first first down of the night. However, they were once again on fourth down and were in punting formation. Still, they weren’t about to give the ball up just yet. They successfully faked the punt and had a huge first down to get them even closer to scoring their first points of the night. After two timeouts, Eastern was able to score a touchdown when Benjamin Bower caught a pass from Eric Manley in the end zone.
Once Fort Recovery was back on offense, they ran down some time on the clock and scored one last touchdown before the half when Post found himself in the end zone once again. At half, the score was 25-6, Fort Recovery.
The Fort Recovery Eagles came out on top with a 38-6 win over undefeated Eastern. Next week, Fort Recovery will face Marion Local in the third round of the playoffs.