The Thursday night game was announced the week before during their narrow victory over South Fulton who goes into the playoffs in second place while Halls became the third place team and Greenfield’s victory over Lake County placed them fourth in Region 8-A, with all teams meeting opponents from Region 7-A in the first round and perhaps the second as well.

West Carroll won the toss and elected to have the first offensive possession as they celebrated their seniors’ final season game. The night was special for all eight as they won the game and get one and perhaps two more games at home. For senior Kevin Taylor, the night was a particularly good one. Taylor, who scored a touchdown as an eighth grader under John Gurschick, who now assists the high school squad, was told he should have scored that one. However as a ball came loose in the air against the Tigers, Taylor reached up and grabbed it in mid-air and hit the left sideline for a 50 plus yard score as other seniors made key hits, allowing him time. This time Gurschick was quick to praise Taylor’s efforts and added, “This time he was supposed to score.”

The game began with Blake Abercrombie receiving the opening kickoff and taking the ball to the 36. West Carroll benefited from a motion penalty against Halls and quickly had a five-yard gain. Shane Depriest was held for no gain, but Gentile picked up 16 yards on the following play with a move around right end. With the ball at Halls 43, Depriest picked up a yard, quarterback Chris Cannon attempted a pass over the middle and facing third and nine, Gentile got the nod for a gain of four. With the ball as the Halls 38, the War Eagles decided to go for the down, gave the ball to Gentile and he reached the 22 on a 16-yard sweep around the right end. Gentile picked up six and with a first down and six, Chancy Depriest took the ball off tackle and scored at the 8:29 mark. Kelly Keen came in to kick the PAT and the War Eagles held a 7-0 margin.

Halls knocked some time off the clock on their first offensive possession on a nine-play drive which ended in a blocked punt. C. Depriest, Kenny Brewer and Taylor stopped the kickoff return at the Halls 29. Jeremiah Johnson held the gain to five on first down, but an illegal motion call against West Carroll advanced the ball for the first down. Keen and Taylor held the Tigers to no gain and then Wesley Arnold held the gain to a yard. Facing third and nine at their own 35, quarterback Josh Daniels passed the ball to Terry Crihfield for a first down at their own 48 before he was stopped by Johnson. Brewer then held the advance to a loss of four while Karl Erwin held the advance to a mere two yards on second down. A third down fumble was recovered by Halls and Brewer stopped any advance at the 46. Facing fourth and 11, Tyler Moore came in to punt, but the errant kick went off the helmet of one of his own players and the ball sailed behind him. Ultimately the fumble was covered by Erwin at the Halls 31, putting the War Eagles in excellent field position.

Gentile picked up two and six yards on the first two runs. Cannon held and reached the 20 for the first down. A pass to C. Depriest in the end zone was good, but negated on an illegal man downfield penalty. Gentile then took the ball to the 17 before rushing into the end zone at the 1:43 mark. Keen’s kick was again good and the War Eagles had a 14-0 lead.

Halls next kickoff return was halted at its own 24 by Johnson. On first down, Johnson and Arnold held the advance to four and Keen held for a loss of one. ON first down, Halls picked up four yards as the first quarter came to an end. Facing fourth and inches, the Tigers were quickly penalized five and punted the ball downfield where it rolled dead at the War Eagle 15.

The War Eagles gained another opportunity to score and lost little time in moving the ball downfield. S. Depriest picked up a yard and Gentile had nine, followed by a late hit which moved the ball another 15, down to the War Eagle 40. Depriest picked up six and then seven yards, followed by a four-yard run by C. Depriest. Gentile was held for no gain on the next two runs and was just two yards shy on the fourth down play. Halls took over on downs at their own 40-yard line.

Erwin covered an incomplete pass while pressure from Brewer and Erwin found Daniels running out of bounds rather than passing the ball on second down. Facing third and six, Daniels moved back again to pass and the ball fell incomplete. The punt went to Johnson, who returned the ball for significant yardage, but an illegal block placed the ball back at the War Eagle 23.

Gentile took the ball for a gain of two. Cannon passed the ball to C. Depriest, who made a good adjustment to receive the ball and moving it to the Halls 47. A pass interference call against the Tigers was declined. S. Depriest moved for a gain of four and then picked up seven yards. With the ball at the Tiger 35, Cannon fired the ball to Abercrombie for a touchdown at the 4:43 mark of the second period and Keen’s extra point was good, giving the War Eagles a 21-0 advantage.

After Taylor kicked the ball to Crihfield, he then made the tackle at the Tiger 27. Keen and Cody Cunningham held the advance to minus one while Gentile saved a possible touchdown run after a Tiger gain of 26 yards. Brandon Shirk held the gain to five while Ethan Thompson and C. Depriest held the next gain to six. Johnson held for a loss of two and Johnson also saved a possible touchdown run by stopping Daniels after a gain of 12. At that point, following a time-out at the 1:27 mark and the ball at the War Eagle 23, Daniels scrambled, the ball came loose in the air and Taylor reached out, tucked it in and ran the distance with some great blocking from his teammates on the way. With 1:04 remaining in the half, Keen again kicked the PAT for a 28-0 lead going into intermission.

Cannon, Jeremy Sonnier, and Bradley Coleman led the defense in the final 64 seconds and intermission arrived with the War Eagles in control with a 28-0 advantage.

During intermission, the home fans were thoroughly entertained by the number two Marching Tiger band from Halls and their own Marching War Eagles, who took third place honors last Saturday in Murfreesboro at the Division I State Band competition. Both shows received the total approval of the home fans.

The Tigers received the opening kickoff of the second half and were held to a mere eight yards on a three and out series. The punted ball was downed by Halls at their own 48-yard line. S. Depriest was held for no gain while Gentile gained one and six yards on the second and third down plays. C. Depriest took the ball on the reverse and gained five yards while S. Depriest got the nod for a gain of three. An incomplete pass to Abercrombie was followed by a 31-yard completion to S. Depriest. With first down at the four, S. Depriest entered the end zone at the 6:43 mark and West Carroll now led 35-0.

Taylor’s kick seemed to be going into the end zone. When the receiver realized it would not bounce that far, he took the ball and attempted to move outside the 10, but was smothers by several defenders and an inadvertent face mask penalty move the ball from the one to the six where the Tigers took over briefly. Gentile held the advance to 15, but then C. Depriest held the gain to five while Keen held for a loss of two. Jason Lott and Johnson held the gain to five and a measurement showed the Tigers inches short of the first down.

Gentile took the ball for four. Although held to a loss of one on the second down play, Gentile gained another opportunity and raced 27 yards to the end zone on the third down play. At the 2:16 mark, the War Eagles had surpassed their lucky number by one, leading 42-0.

Thompson and Sonnier held the return at the Halls 17. Erwin, Johnson, Eric Underwood and Johnson gave it a good shot, but at Halls finally reached the end zone as the third quarter concluded with Daniels passing the ball to Chris Dennis who raced 69 yards to the end zone. The PAT by Moore was good and the score was narrowed 42-7.

The kick went into the end zone and a touchback for the War Eagles who took over at their own 20-yard line.

Gentile moved the ball for a gain of seven and then picked up two more. An injury time-out at the 11:10 mark was followed by Gentile picked up first down at the War Eagle 36. Gentile had the ball stripped on the first down play, but Thompson recovered for West Carroll for a loss of nine. After a gain of nine, S. Depriest picked up 11, Gentile 3 and facing fourth and six, Gentile was held short, turning the ball over to the Tigers a the War Eagle 41.

Younger players began to see playing time for the War Eagles. Joe Johnson, Dustin Seay and Wade Holliday held on the next three down as the Tigers picked up 15 total yards. An illegal shift penalty negated five of the gained yards, but despite the efforts of Travel Woollesen, the Tigers Lorenzo Johnson gained a yard and then Crihfield raced 27 yards to pay dirt. The PAT by Moore was good and the score was narrowed again to a 42-14 lead for the War Eagles at the 6:15 mark. Johnson returned the kick to the War Eagle 30 where Gentile ran two more times for five and seven yards to push his season total in yards gained past the 1,000 mark. Thompson took the ball for a gain of one and then nine for the first down. Thompson picked up one more before Halls took a time-out at the 2:38 mark. Seay picked up 11 yards and Thompson one. Seay was held for no gain, a gain of four and a gain of one. The War Eagles turned the ball over on downs with only seconds remaining. Daniel Rogers picked up a tackle on the final play of the game after a Tiger gain of five.

As the War Eagles enter the playoffs with their second regional title intact, they have had a year to remember. They have an 8-2 overall record and their first win over the Hollow Rock-Bruceton Tigers. Coach Rich noted that should they face TCA (their first game and loss of the season) this Friday night, he believed his team would have a good shot at gaining a win the second time around. Although the War Eagles narrowly escaped a loss at Perry County, they proved that night they could come back from a deficit for a victory and could definitely advance to round two. The War Eagles have improved weekly and have a depth they have not had in previous seasons. Should they win this round, they would be the host of the second round where their opponent would most likely be JCS or USJ. The War Eagles are entering the playoffs with confidence and determination. Game time will be at 7:00 p.m. Friday night at War Eagle Stadium in Atwood.

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