Outta Town Showdown...

Finally, I got to shoot an area game since all the local teams were either out of town or off last week. And the game I got was a good one. Eastland was hosting #2 ranked Godley in a Class 2A game that will most-likely decide who will be the district champion. It was a game between a hard-pounding running team (Godley) and a high-flying passing attack (Eastland). It was one of those games I was hoping to get to shoot since the preseason.

The game started out kind of as expected. Godley took the ball down and scored a touchdown on about a seven minute drive. Eastland took the ball ran a couple plays then threw a bomb for a long touchdown. After that Eastland took over and controlled the first half. The defense was playing great, swarming Godley's rushing attack and shutting it down. On the other side of the ball Godley couldn't stop the passing attack. The score at the end of the first half was 23-7 and it was looking like this would be a huge lopsided blowout.

The second half was a little different. Eastland got the ball first and started moving the ball down field like they did in the first half until they got to the red zone. Then the pendulum seemed to swing quickly to Godley. A sack, penalty and a couple bad plays ended with Eastland turning the ball over on downs and Godley's running back finally breaking free for a long touchdown run. Then Godley's defense was figuring out the passing game. The big problem is Godley's offense isn't built for the big plays but they were able to slowly crawl back. Eastland scored one touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter. Then Godley moved the ball but couldn't score. As time started to run out Eastland's quarterback fumbled and lost the ball, there was still a little life. Godley, down by 8, went down the field and scored, but they couldn't convert the 2-point play.

With just over 2 minutes left Eastland recovered the on-sides kick. They had to run the ball and get at least one first down. Now, with Eastland's offense built largely on the pass, this was easier said than done. They had a couple of runs up the middle and went nowhere, but did a good job of killing time off the clock. On third and long Eastland opened up a great hole and their running back took off for a 14 yard gain and that pretty much ended things. All that was left was a kneel down and it was time to celebrate. It was a great game. Hopefully I'll have some more like this coming up no that games are getting important.