The Lakes Area Screaming Eagles went beak to beak, as it were, with the Thunderhawks of Menomenie, Wis., on Saturday, in a hard fought battle that saw several lead changes.
Ultimately, however, a 48-yard field goal by the Hawks in the final 2½ minutes of the game snatched victory from the talons of defeat for the home team, as the Hawks downed the Eagles 34-32.
"It was a back and forth battle," said Eagles quarterback-owner Jason McCloskey. "There were a lot of highlights ... the defense played well at times, and the offense played well at times."
Despite scoring more touchdowns than their opponents, and despite taking the lead late in the contest, the Eagles were unable to claim victory.
After the Thunderhawks' field goal, the Eagles had one more chance to score.
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"We drove down and got close to the end zone, about 40 yards out," McCloskey said. "But two holding penalties against us pushed us way back."
Those penalties kept the victory out of reach for Lakes Area.
"Ultimately, we made one too many mistakes," McCloskey said. "To their credit, they played really well. They're a 9-3 football team."
The sheer number of players out on the field for the Hawks may also have made the difference in the championship, he added.
"We had 27 guys we played with all year, they had 50-plus players," McCloskey said.
Despite lacking the numbers of some other teams, however, the Eagles finished the season as league runners-up, with a 7-3 record.
