Eagles Hit Hurdle

The Eagles Varsity XV fell to a powerful Austin Westlake side 23-8, on Friday night. This was the first regular season loss for STH in over two years. The Eagles beat Westlake in two hard-fought wins last season on their way to a second state title, but the Chaparrals were not to be denied this time. Westlake has a veteran team which returned all but two starters from last season's semi-final squad and going into the season had to be considered favorites for post-season honors.

St. Thomas led at halftime 8-6 on the back of a Sebastian Gracia penalty kick and a Logan Stryk try, but were unable to mount any offense in the second half. Westlake managed two tries and another penalty in the second stanza.

The game was an extremely physical affair with both sides going toe to toe at the breakdowns and in the tackle zone. Westlake played very well, but the Eagles took themselves out of the game with numerous penalties throughout the second half. St. Thomas had a difficult time mounting any offense as the backs played flat and did not get any momentum when the hit the tackle zone. The aggressive Chaparral backs took full advantage of these factors and delivered some punishing blows which brought the Eagle offense to a standstill.

While the loss was a bitter pill for the Eagles and their fans to swallow, solace was taken in the fact that they had a number of opportunities to gain a victory. The final scoreline flattered the Chaparrals as they put the last score on the board with less than 2 minutes remaining in the match. Part of the growth process for the young and relatively inexperienced Eagle squad will be finding the ability to recovery quickly from mistakes and minimize the penalty count. While the loss was painful it is clear that the Eagles will grow from the lessons learned from their encounter with a tough and skilled Westlake side. The Eagles face the Stony Point Tigers this Saturday in an intriguing matchup. Stony Point is currently 2-0 and looks to give the Eagles another physical contest.