The Ropes Eagles went on the road to take on the Tahoka Bulldogs for the team’s district opener where the Eagles won in a close game, 35-34.
Ropes started with the ball first where their possession ended with a pick-six from Tahoka to make the score 7-0 early in the first quarter.
The Eagles responded on their next drive after they got a two-yard rush to cap off their drive and make the score 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
On the Bulldogs next drive of the game they were driving down the field when the quarterback threw a pick-six to Reese Williams to make the score 13-7, Eagles leading.
Tahoka got back on offense after their last drive ended badly, where they would break off a huge 34-yard run to give the Bulldogs the 14-13, lead over Ropes.
Ropes responded with a big run of their own from Mason Marmolejo from 58-yards out and make the score 21-14, after their made two-point conversion at the half.
For the start of the third quarter Tahoka struck on offense first after they punched the ball into the endzone from four-yards out to make the score 21-21 with a made PAT.
Ropes retook the lead at the end of the third quarter after Rylan Kieth ran the ball in from two-yards out with the made PAT to make the score 28-21.
For the final quarter of the game there was drama in the final stretch of the game at the very end.
Tahoka scored at the start of the quarter with a huge pass from 79-yards out to tie the game at 2828.
Ropes never gave up though as Kade Franklin threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Williams to give the Eagles the 35-28 lead over the Bulldogs.
Tahoka was able to drive the ball down the field and get a touchdown of their own in the final seconds of the quarter but a few flags in the end of the game had them attempting a PAT from 25-yards out where the kicker from Tahoka came up a few yards short to keep the Eagles having the one-point lead in the final seconds of the game.
Tahoka attempted a onside kick at the end of the game but Ropes was able to recover it and walk out of Tahoka with a huge district opening win.
Kade Franklin threw for 70 yards on 12 passing attempts with one touchdown and one interception on the night.
Leading the Eagles in rushing was Marmolejo with 15 carries for 151 yards, one touchdown and one fumble.
Rylan Kieth had 11 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns, Trak Crow had one carry for four yards and Kaden Riker had two carries for one yard.
Leading Ropes in receiving was Williams with two catches for 32 yards and one touchdown. Kolter Dockery had two catches for 23 yards and Kieth had two catches for 15 yards.
The Eagle defense had a tough matchup with the Tahoka Bulldogs as they gave up 200 passing yards and 146 rushing yards in their contest.
Leading the Eagles in tackles was both Branson Simental and Riker with 13 tackles. Dockery added another 12, Zayden Pittman had nine, Crow and Mike Sanchez had eight, Kanon Buckner and Victor Saenz both had seven, Reid McCaleb had six, Williams had four, Elijah Flores and Brady Bryan had three each, Tyler Harbuck and Jace Fowler had two each and Jackson Lehnen, Kieth and Colton Mortensen all had one tackle in their contest.
There was only one interception from the Eagles as it came from Williams and the team had two sacks with one coming from Saenz and the other from Flores.
The Ropes Eagles remain undefeated on the season with a perfect 6-0 record. The Eagles took on the Smyer Bobcats this past Friday at home for their second district game of the season.