GO EAGLES!

Eagles soar past Hornets







OXFORD--There will be a little extra spring in the steps of the Bishop Shanahan football team, a little bit of extra energy to which they are unaccustomed. The Eagles did something Friday night they hadn't done in the past seven years--win a football game on opening week. Thanks to the superior play of both its offensive and defensive lines, Shanahan shrugged off a first quarter deficit and topped host-Oxford 38-9.

"I can't tell you how good this feels," said running back Keegan Lawton. "We've never won our first game before while I've played."

Lawton can feel good about himself, too, in addition to the positive feeling that comes from a winning team effort. The Eagles' back ran for 98-yard and two touchdowns on the night, before being taken out late in the game.

"You've got to give it to those guys up front," said Lawton. "Sean MCguire, Colin Eganm Jake Zabel, Brian Gill, and Dan Skahan were just incredible for us upfront. They were opening up holes you could rive a truck through."

At the outset, it didn't really look like it was going to be the Eagles night. After all, Oxford ran off a 15-play scoring drive on its opening possession that drained a full seven minutes off the clock. The, for good measure, held the Eagles to a three-and-out when Shanahan first got the ball.

"In past years, I would have to be the one to make sure the guys didn't get down on themselves," said Eagles' coach Paul Myers. "But today, the seniors kept our midset. They didn't panic, and they kept themselves motivated."

There was very little that didn't go right for the Eagles. In addition to outrushing Oxford by a whopping 222-25 margin, quarterback Ryan Egolf hit four differetn receivers for a total of 152-yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"The protection I had tonight was way better than anything I ever got last year," said Egolf. “If the line keeps playing like it did tonight, we are going to be a tough team to beat.”

Lost in the shadow of the loss was the solid play from Oxford quarterback Connor Hollenbach. Hollenbach completed his first six passes on the opening drive, and finished the night with 165 yards passing, including a 42-yard strike to Jaime Sanchez.

“Connor did a nice job for us,” said Mike Pietlock. “But you can't ask a high school kid to just keep putting it in the air and expect great results. Bottom line is that Shanahan dominated the line of scrimmage. Normally Shanahan will use the pass to set up the run, but they established the run early, which set up that touchdown pass at the end of the first half. That was a backbreaker.”

While the weekend might be a little more enjoyable for the Eagles than in previous years after the opener, it's just the first game of a long season.

“We're happy,” said Myers. “ But we're not satisfied. We'll be back at it Tuesday, and this year we'll have a little momentum to carry to week two.”

By BILL RUDICK




















Congratulations to the following players for being selected to the 1st Team All State All Academic Team for 2009 as selected by the Pennsylvania Football News. 1st Team is a G.P.A. of 3.8-4.0

pictured are:
front row (left to right): Mason Dreiling, Dom Ficca, Ryan Ficca, Scott Nulty
back row (left to right): Chris Cordivari, Adam Kaminski, Mike Ibarguen, Mike Kilcoyne
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Offense

First Team

Chris Cordivari –Wide Receiver

Honorable Mention

Adam Kaminski- Kicker
Mike Ibarguen – All- Academic
Keegan Lawton- Running Back
Chris Cusick-DE
John Shine-LB
Scott Nulty-Punter