Eureka wasted little time establishing its dominance this afternoon (Sept. 30) against McCluer North. The Wildcats rocketed out to a 20-point lead just more than five minutes in the road game and went on win 56-0.
The victory sets up a showdown between Suburban West American Conference undefeated teams on Friday (Oct. 6) when Eureka (7-0, 3-0) plays host to Lindbergh (7-0, 2-0), which defeated Ritenour 46-42 Friday night (Sept. 29).
The Wildcats are 7-0 for the second time in three seasons. They went 10-1 in 2015 with their only loss to Kirkwood in that season’s Class 6 District 1 title game. The Flyers are 7-0 for the first time since 2009.
“We’ve been looking forward to it since the beginning of the season,” Wildcats senior defensive lineman Brendan Carter said of facing Lindbergh. “It is going to be a fun game. It is our homecoming. We’re very happy about it.”
The Wildcats were very happy with the way they started the game against the Stars (0-7). Eureka senior Hassan Haskins recovered a botched handoff by North on the second play of the game to give his team the Stars’ 22-yard line.
Junior quarterback Tyler Kennedy then hit senior tight end Ben Hunnius of a touchdown pass on his team’s first offensive play for a 7-0 lead 21 seconds into the game. Eureka blocked North’s punt on its next possession, and this time Haskins did is work on offense covering the 23 yards on three carries for a 14-0 lead with 8:39 left in the first quarter.
Eureka pinned North on its 15 with the ensuing kickoff, and Haskins sacked sophomore quarterback Carl Sharp for a 12-yard loss, then the defense stopped junior running back Roman Brown for a 2-yard loss, and on the third play, Haskins and junior defensive lineman Carter Beecher knocked the ball loose from Sharp and sophomore defensive lineman Jake McCollum recovered the ball for a touchdown and a 20-6 Eureka lead with 6:56 left in the opening quarter.
Kennedy added a 20-yard touchdown run with 2:19 left in the first quarter, and after North punted to start the second, Haskins broke free for a 45-yard touchdown on Eureka’s first play of the quarter for a 35-0 lead with 11:35 left in the first half.
Haskins added a 16-yard touchdown run for a 41-0 lead with 8:23 left in the half, and Kennedy ran for a 37-yard touchdown after he initially fumbled then scooped up the ball to give the Wildcats a 48-0 lead with 2:31 left in the half.
Eureka, which pulled most of its starters midway through the second quarter, pulled the rest of its starters in the second half as the clock ran continuously. The Wildcats did get one more touchdown in the third quarter with senior quarterback Julien Cifarelli scoring on a 1-yard run with 4:13 left in the quarter.
Eureka 56, McCluer North 0
Eureka 27-22-7-0—56
McCluer North 0-0-0-0—0
First quarter
E: Ben Hunnius 22 pass from Tyler Kennedy (Tom Burke kick), 11:39
E: Hassan Haskins 1 run (Tom Burke kick), 8:39
E: Jake McCollum fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed), 6:56
E: Tyler Kennedy 20 run (Tom Burke kick), 2:19
Second quarter
E: Hassan Haskins 45 run (Ben Hunnius pass from Tyler Kennedy), 11:35
E: Hassan Haskins 16 run (Tom Burke kick), 8:23
E: Tyler Kennedy 37 run (Tom Burke kick), 2:31
Third quarter
E: Julien Cifarelli 1 run (Robbie Busby kick), 4:13