Eagle Grove entered Friday night knowing they had a chance to make history. It had been a decade since the Eagles had qualified for the state playoffs, and with a win, paired with a Manson-Northwest Webster loss, the Eagles would lock up the 4th seed in Class 1A, District 2. Standing between them and their dream was county rival Belmond-Klemme.
The Eagles came out fast and furious, following a fumble on their opening possession, Eagle Grove marched it back down the field and scored a 14-yard touchdown run by Orlando Hernandez to put the Eagles up 8-0. Logan Willard’s squad then went a rare aerial assault, as Tate Richardson went up top to Cayden Schultz for a 41-yard touchdown pass, to put the Eagles up 16-0. It was then Jake Jeske’s turn to join the touchdown party, as he took a fullback dive 16-yards for a touchdown, to put Eagle Grove up 22-0. Blake Morgan capped off the 1st half by taking a pitch play 57 yards for a touchdown to give Eagle Grove a 30-0 halftime lead.
While Eagle Grove’s offense slowed down in the 2nd half, their defense continued to punish Belmond-Klemme, as the Broncos only tallied 46 yards of total offense on the night. The Eagles put the cherry on top with a 2-yard touchdown run from Roberto Calles to give Eagle Grove a 38-0 lead and the win. Paired with a Manson-Northwest Webster loss, the win clinched Eagle Grove’s first playoff berth since 2011.
Eagle Grove concludes the regular season with a trip to Jewell to face South Hamilton on Friday.