Bizarre final play gives Chetopa win over Uniontown

Herald-Tribune

UNIONTOWN, Kan. -- A strange final play with perhaps a controversial ruling gave Chetopa a 58-54 victory over Uniontown Friday night, putting a damper on the Eagles' Homecoming festivities.

The Eagles (0-2 Three Rivers League, 1-2 overall) led 34-30 at the half and 48-38 after three quarters. But the Green Hornets (2-2, 2-2) outscored the Eagles 20-6 in the fourth quarter.

"We had several chances to put the game away in the second half," Uniontown head coach Chad Stroud said. "But we were unable to make that one big play at a crucial time to put the game away."

Chetopa's score on the final play of game came after the Hornets' receiver was tackled just short of the goal line. Eagle fans were hoping that victory had been saved, but the officials ruled the receiver fumbled before he was down. The ball went into the end zone and was recovered by another Hornet for the winning points.

"This is a heartbreaking loss," Stroud said. "We have to bounce back next week against a very good St. Paul team."

The Eagles rushed the ball for 312 yards on 52 carries and quarterback Dakota Wiley completed seven of his 14 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. That gave the Eagles 442 yards of total offense.

Chetopa passed 49 times, completing 32 for 412 of its 593 total yards.

Garrett Murrow rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns for Uniontown. John Reed ran for 102 yards and caught 54 yards in passes.

Defensively, Gavin Miller and Joe Barbose each had 12 tackles while Chase Gleason and Jay Hierholzer each had 11.

The Eagles host St. Paul in another league game Friday.