Eagles football gives Bucks a fight

“We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole and then our kids battled back, but they out-executed us. We have these glimmers of success but we’re not consistent enough to keep it going a full game,” Coach Caleb Sperry said.

“We had a great week of practice last week and we came out and competed pretty well on Friday,” he said. “We have a good group of kids who like to be here and compete.”

In a Pendleton game dominated by pass attack, quarterback Caden Leiblein put up strong numbers, throwing for three touchdowns on 27-44-285 passing, with two interceptions. He hit Michael Jones with scoring passes of five and eight yards, and Connor Coerper (7 receptions, 86 yards) pulled in a 41-yard score in the fourth quarter. Out of the Eagles’ 13 running plays, Jones took it 11 times for 90 yards and Brandon Rivera twice for 16. Other receivers included Rivera at 9-for-42, Trenton Hough at 7-for-65, Tanner Wells at 4-for-34.

“Caden is having a heck of a year, he’s a young guy who gets better every week,” said Sperry, who also praised the play of Wells, linebacker Patrick Estes, center Wader Pickering and corner Christopher McElwee.

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Friday the team travels again, to Mountain View in Bend. “They’re a physical team. We just need to make sure we show up prepared and play our brand of football; take care of the things that we have control over and try to take care of the things that have been hampering us all year, and execute.

“We’re trying to focus on finishing and being out here together and having fun,” Sperry said. “A lot of these guys have two weeks of football left, and we want it to be a good experience, and we have a lot of young guys, and were building for years to come. Our expectations and vision are the same, to come out and try to have fun and continue to get better,” he said.

“I try to put perspective on it, and try to talk about where we’re at in the season and relate it to life. Luckily for us it’s a game. Life can be harder,” Sperry said. “We get to come out and compete and play a game and it’s fun. We set goals and try to make sure we put things in the proper perspective and focus on what’s important. We have a good group of kids who like to be her and compete.”