The Eureka Junior High Tornadoes opened their 2025 season Thursday with a dominating 36-8 win over the Bluestem Lions. The Eureka squad, with only 15 available athletes due to illness and low numbers overall, all managed the road victory with several new players playing key roles.
Bluestem began the game kicking to the Tornadoes. The kick was fielded by 8th grader Gavin Gonzalez and returned all the way for a touchdown. Fellow 8th grader Felix Neill ran in the conversion, and with 7 seconds of game time gone, the Tornadoes had an 8-point lead. Eureka then kicked to the Lions and recovered the kick. After Neill gained 30 yards on a rush, and 8th grader Cord Adkins added 12 more, the Lions’ defense stiffened and forced the Tornadoes to turn the ball over on downs. Bluestem promptly fumbled the ball back to the Tornadoes, who took over on the Lions’ 16-yard line. Two rushes by quarterback Adkins put the ball into the endzone. A successful conversion run by 8th grader Marcus Pearce made the score 16-0.
The Lions’ next possession showed some promise until a timely sack by 8th grader Brandon Cornett gave the Tornadoes the ball back. A 42-yard touchdown run and a successful conversion, both by Neill, made the score 24-0 in the second quarter. The Tornadoes held the Lions on the following possession, forcing a punt. Taking the ball on their own 35yard line, the Tornadoes capped the first half by scoring their fourth touchdown, this time a 41-yarder by Adkins that followed a 17-yard rush by Pearce. The conversion failed, but the Tornadoes went into halftime leading 30-0.
A running clock in the second half limited the playing time for the teams, but Bluestem managed to score on a 47yard pass and a conversion. Eureka closed the scoring with another Neill touchdown, this time for 26 yards. The conversion failed, resulting in a final score of Eureka 36 and Bluestem 8.
The Tornadoes play Caney Valley at home on Thursday, Sept. 11, with kick-off slated for 6 p.m.
Volleyball Action
In Lady Tornado action, the Lady Tornadoes A-team won the match in three sets, 18-25, 2520 and 15-11. Eureka’s B-team lost in three, 1125, 25-22 and 8-15. The Lady Tornadoes C and D teams claimed victories with the C-team claiming it in 2 sets and the D team claiming the win after 3. Additional details for the Lady Tornadoes was unavailable at the time of publication.
