The Eureka Junior High football team lost to the Caney Valley Bullpups on Thursday, Sept. 11, 6-50.
The Tornadoes were beaten by a much bigger and faster squad as is typical for a Caney team.
Eureka is now 1-1 on the season.
The game began as poorly as it could when Caney Valley kicked off to the Tornadoes and they couldn’t corral the kick. Caney scooped up the ball and scored, adding the conversion, and just seconds into the game, Caney held an 8-0 lead. Eureka turned the ball over on downs on their next possession and Caney scored after two plays. Again the conversion was successful and Eureka found themselves down 0-16 with only 3 minutes of game clock expired.
Things didn’t get better for the Tornadoes as they fumbled away their next possession, held the Bullpups on 4th down, but turned the ball over to them again as they were unable to move the ball. Caney then scored on a long run and another conversion to make the score 0-24 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter began with Eureka throwing an interception and Caney taking over at mid-field. The Bullpups needed just three plays to score again and complete the conversion, making the score 0-32. Eureka once again was unable to move the ball, failing on 4th down and giving the ball back to Caney, who then promptly scored. This time the conversion failed but Caney held a 0-38 lead. The half ended with Eureka throwing another interception which was returned for a touchdown by Caney, making the halftime score 0-44.
The second half began with the Tornadoes kicking to the Bullpups. Caney mounted a 50-yard drive and scored on a 12-yard run that featured multiple broken tackles. The Tornadoes were in the right positions but couldn’t bring down the bigger Bullpups. The conversion failed, making the score 0-50. Eureka 8th grader Cord Atkins returned the ensuing kick for a touchdown, carrying several Caney players with him the last three yards. The conversion failed but Eureka was on the board, trailing 6-50. This proved to be the final score as the running clock significantly shortened the game.
The Tornadoes play Fredonia on Thursday, Sept. 18 at Fredonia. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
