Saturday, October 25, 2008

Firebirds outlast Thunderhawks in Battle of Lakota’s 20-19

Missed XP was the difference in the game

by Bret Sims

The annual battle of the Lakota’s may not have been one of the prettiest but it was certainly one of the most exciting in this 11-year rivalry where Lakota West outlasted Lakota East 20-19.

It has often been said that football is a game of inches and it was never more true for East’s kicker who bounced the extra point off the left upright that would have tied the game late in the final quarter.

“The things you have to do in a game like this are avoid penalties, cut out your turnovers and be solid in the kicking game,” said East coach Greg Bailie. “I feel bad for our guys, but it’s kind of the way our year has gone.”

West now leads the series 6-5 have won their fourth straight and finishing 6-4 on the year while East dropped to 3-7.

The Firebirds jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter on as 7-yard run by senior RB Stephen Houston. John Peters followed that up with a 2-yard TD pass to Rick Finley, the 140-pound scat-back who set up the touchdown on a 53-yard run of his own after lining up as the QB and taking the direct snap.

The game came down to fundamentals as it always seems to be the case in a game where both teams lay it all out on the field. Kicking was the Achilles heel for both teams as they combined for three missed extra points and averaged less than 20 yards punting on the night.

The Firebirds defense which has been the backbone of the team all season stepped up and slammed the door on the Thunderhawks on their final two possessions to seal the victory. Jordan Hicks and the rest of his teammates held East to minus-3 yards total offense on their last two drives.

“As I told our guys, ‘It’s better to win ugly than lose pretty,’ ” said West coach Larry Cox. “Hats off to Lakota East – they could have folded, but didn’t.”

Thunderhawk senior QB Evin Dusold played through a hand injury that had sidelined him much of the season in a valiant effort as he threw for one touchdown and ran for another.
Firebird senior Rick Finley carried the ball nine times for a career-best 103 yards and pulled down a touchdown in the first half alone.

“We came in just trying to do what we could to get the win,” said Finley. “We have a tradition here that if the seniors beat East, you get a watch that has the score on it. We wanted that.”

Fans and players will have to wait another year before this young rivalry is played again between the two schools but once again this matchup has proven to be one to remember and for so many of these players who grew up playing Tomahawk football together it is the icing on the cake to their high school career.

While the scoreboard may declare an official winner when the final horn blows everyone that is a part of this knows that there truly is never a loser in the Battle of the Lakota’s just a continuation until next year.