Argyle Athletics Booster Club, Argyle H.S. TX

 

With 18 seconds left in the game, the Eagle faithful were finally able to wipe their brows as an Iowa Park pass fell short and Argyle took over on downs. It was the end of a night filled with big plays for the Eagles and gutsy performances by their players.

 

You could probably get a dozen different answers to the question of which play was the biggest of the night for Argyle, but the one that mattered most on the scoreboard was a nifty 20-yard pass from Chad Hedlund to Justin Hommell to give the Eagles their first lead of the night with 51 seconds left in the game. More importantly, however, after Hedlund tacked on the extra point, the play provided the final score of Argyle 28, Iowa Park 21 and gave the Eagles a victory to start the 2009 season.

 

The game began with a strong effort by the Argyle defense on the first series highlighted by a tackle for loss by David Johnson and a pass breakup by Jake Sizelove. Chad Bossow, Trent Cantrell and Cole Massey also recorded tackles which helped force the Hawks to punt.

 

After a three and out by the Eagles, Iowa Park managed to keep the ball for three minutes before being forced to punt again. Murphy Ellis was strong for Argyle on that series with three tackles in seven plays. Along with two tackles from Sizelove, Cantrell, Johnson, Dran Crenshaw, Adam Curran and Blake Dunham each made one stop to help the Eagles get the ball back.

 

Despite two strong runs from Kevin Ryon on the next offensive series, Argyle turned the ball over on downs. Iowa Park took advantage of the opportunity by putting together a 12-play touchdown drive which took 5:18 off the clock. A big hit by Crenshaw early in the drive and a fantastic play by Dunham on 2^nd and goal from the six weren’t enough to keep the Hawks’ Lee Clubb out of the end zone as he scored on a five-yard run with 11:17 left in the first half. Quarterback Connor Brown kicked the extra point to give the Hawks a 7-0 lead.

 

The Eagles went three and out again after the touchdown, but got a big lift from Ellis as he recovered an Iowa Park fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the next series. However, Argyle was unable to capitalize on the turnover as it was forced to punt just three plays later.

 

Tackles by Crenshaw, Alejandro Castor, J.D. McLeod and Jake Meeks then forced the Hawks to punt and set up the most exciting play of the night for the Eagles. After an incomplete pass and a false start penalty, Hedlund found Lance Sutton on a toss to the right side. Sutton then used his speed to turn the corner and scamper 91 yards into the end zone, leaving all the Hawks to eat his dust. Hedlund’s extra point made the score 7-7 with 5:47 left in the half.

 

Stops by Castro, Meeks and Sizelove forced Iowa Park to punt on its next possession, but a fortunate bounce on the punt put the Eagles deep in their own territory at the two. With no room to work, Argyle had to punt from its own end zone, giving the ball to the Hawks at the Argyle 22. Stafford Dyer scored on a two-yard run five plays later, and Brown’s extra point lifted Iowa Park to a 14-7 halftime lead.

 

The Eagles punted on the opening series of the second half, but the Argyle defense then set the tone for the remainder of the game with three strong plays. Cantrell made a first-down tackle for a loss of two, followed by a Dunham tackle for a loss of two more. Ellis and Cantrell then combined for a great stop which allowed only a gain of one and got the ball back for the Eagles on a punt.

 

A first-down pass from Hedlund to Hommell got the Argyle crowd to its feet as Hommell raced 49 yards down to the Iowa Park 33. Unfortunately, the Eagles couldn’t use the play to their advantage immediately, as they turned the ball over on downs. However, on the Hawks’ first play of the series, Meeks came up with a huge fumble recovery to swing the momentum back in Argyle’s favor and set the offense up at the Iowa Park 31.

 

The Eagles used a 16-yard pass from Hedlund to Sutton, a great fourth-down conversion run by Bossow, a nice five-yard run from Ryon and a 6-yard reception by Justin Bruton to move the ball down to the nine. Hedlund then hooked up with Tyler Sweatt on a terrific pass and catch to tie the score at 14 after the extra point with 5:14 remaining in the third.

 

On the next series, a chop block penalty against the Hawks and great plays from Cantrell, Ellis, Meeks and Sizelove created a fourth-and-19 situation which forced Iowa Park to punt. A fumble by the Eagles on the next play set up a 27-yard touchdown pass for the Hawks from Brown to Dillan Ross. Brown’s extra point put Iowa Park up 21-14.

 

Things only got worse for the Eagles as they fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but the defense got things fired up again with a strong stand on the next series. After a strong play by Johnson left the Hawks with no gain on second down, Sizelove caused an intentional grounding penalty which put Iowa Park at fourth and 31 at the end of the third quarter. Pushed back on their heels by the stellar defense, the Hawks false started on the next play making it fourth and 36. An Iowa Park punt then put the Eagles at their own 29.

 

This set the stage for back-to-back outstanding receptions by Sutton. The first was on a toss to the left side where Sutton bounced off a would-be tackler and pushed his way to a gain of 33 yards. Hedlund then found Sutton again on an exciting 23-yard connection down to the Hawks’ 15. Three plays later, Hedlund found Sweatt on a 13-yard TD strike to complete a 71-yard drive which took only a minute and 29 seconds off the clock. Hedlund’s point after tied the score at 21 points each with 10:20 left in the game.

 

The two teams then traded possessions twice before Iowa Park took over at its own 24. The Eagle defense rose to the occasion again with stops by Crenshaw and Curran, along with a tackle for a loss of four by Johnson. The Iowa Park night then turned sour as Meeks made a spectacular diving interception to give Argyle the ball on the Hawks’ 49 with 1:46 to play.

On the second play of the drive, Hedlund found Ryon on a screen pass for seven yards down to the 42. An incomplete pass on third down then forced the Eagles to go for it on fourth and three. Hedlund and Sutton used the opportunity to pile on another exciting play as Sutton hauled in a 22-yard pass which gave Argyle the ball at the 20 and set up Hommell’s game-winning score.

 

The excitement wasn’t quite over for the evening as the Hawks returned the kickoff all the way to the Eagles’ 34. After kicking the ball off, Hedlund made a fantastic touchdown-saving tackle to keep things under control. Iowa Park could get nothing started as Kyle Thompson broke up a pass play and Johnson had a huge sack for a loss of 11 yards to help seal the game for Argyle.

 

The Eagles will play their home opener Friday, Sept. 4 at 7:30 PM against Burkburnett. The Bulldogs won their opener by taking Game 2 of the Sammy Baugh Classic on August 28 with a 14-0 victory over Sweetwater. Burkburnett created five turnovers and held Sweetwater to just 158 yards of total offense in a game that was scoreless until the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs’ Cannon Cornelius ran for 118 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns in the win.

 

Rushing (Carries/Yards) – Ryon 8/19, Hedlund 4/8, Seiber 2/11, Bossow 2/6, Sutton 1/1

 

Passing – Hedlund 15-33/308 Yards/4 TD

 

Receiving (Receptions/Yards) – Sutton 6/166/1 TD, Bruton 3/43, Sweatt 2/24/2 TD, Hommell 2/69/1 TD, Ryon 1/7

 

Tackles – Sizelove 13, Cantrell & Johnson 11, Crenshaw, Ellis & Meeks 10

 

Tackles For Loss – Johnson 5, Ellis 2, Cantrell, Curran & McLeod 1

 

Sacks – Johnson & Ellis 1

 

Fumble Recoveries – Ellis & Griffin 1

 

Interceptions – Meeks 1