This past Friday the Ropes Eagles football team faced off against the Gruver Greyhounds in the Regional Round of the 2A-2 playoffs in Canyon, losing 23-13.
The loss eliminates the Eagles from the playoffs and concludes their season, ending with a record of 11-2 overall.
Even in the loss, it was still a highly competitive game that went down to the final minutes, an effort that Ropes Football Head Coach Beau Riker reflected on.
“We played well and started well early. I thought we had our chances to make it a ball game. Creating a turnover on the third play defensively was a good thing for us,” Riker said. “Overall, it was a tough game that could’ve went either way. It didn’t go in our favor, but that’s a really good team, and I’m really proud of our kids and their success this season, on and off the field."
It was a defensive battle between the two teams as neither of them could run the football on the other. The Eagles rushed for 67 yards on 26 carries, and the Greyhounds rushed for 66 yards on 40 carries.
The Ropes run defense held Gruver’s offense to 1.7 yards per carry, forcing Gruver to pass, which ended up being prosperous for them.
Gruver was able to throw for 229 passing yards to set up some short rushing touchdowns, which would ultimately be the difference in the game.
Nevertheless, the Eagles defense still put forth a winworthy effort off the backs of several standout performances.
“Kaden Riker had a good game. He played tough. They game planned him in the second half and came out and made some good adjustments. They didn’t have much of a running game, so they ran opposite of him and changed their offensive scheme,” Coach Riker said. “Victor Saenz had a fantastic game again. He’s our tough player up front and had a really good game. They had trouble blocking him and he set the tone early.”
With the performances of Riker at outside linebacker and Saenz at noseguard, Gruver had no chance rushing the ball as those two put on a defensive clinic.
Offensively, senior quarterback Kade Franklin threw for 101 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception, completing 11/26 pass attempts.
Junior wide receiver Zayden Pittman was on the receiving end of both passing touchdowns, recording six receptions for 67 yards. Junior wide receiver Kolter Dockery added three receptions for 16 yards as well.
Senior running back Ryland Kieth led the Eagles in rushing with 68 yards on 19 carries, which was also a game high.
Each player left it all on the field and even though it's not the preferred ending, Ropes football can still be proud of their second straight season of double-digit wins and a deep playoff run.
This group won the District Championship, Bi-District Championship and Area Championship, and they’ll certainly bring home numerous All-District honors.
A big part of that had to do with the senior class, which the Eagles will miss dearly.
“My message to the seniors after the game was thank you for laying the foundation for our program and setting the expectations. These are the guys that we built it on,” Coach Riker said. “They’ve been through it all in the last three years. They’ve set an example for our underclassmen to be leaders, hard workers and playmakers. We’re graduating a lot off this team, and we have some holes to fill this offseason.”
Congratulations to seniors Ryland Kieth, Stetson Haden, Kade Franklin, Radley Partington, Zach Ramirez, Brayden Hogg, Brayden Saldivar, Victor Saenz, Elijah Flores, Carson Clemens, Broxton Varnell, Kanon Bucker, Peyton Sawyer, Jackson Lehnen and Brent Buckner on great playing careers, and good luck in your future endeavors.
They all went out right with a season that will go down in Ropes football history.