Midland Trail Middle tops Fayetteville 28-8
Sep. 21—Midland Trail Middle capped an "emotional" week with a 28-8 conquest of neighboring Fayetteville PK-8 Thursday in football action.
A balanced offense led the way for the Patriots. Trail ran for 142 yards and passed for 123.
Jacob Brown carried five times for 54 yards and a touchdown, was 1-of-1 with a 55-yard TD pass to Riley Dixon, caught one pass for 16 yards and converted a two-pointer.
Dixon caught two passes for 107 yards and the six-pointer, as well as rushing twice for 22 yards. Teammate Rayce Dickerson ran eight times for 32 yards and a touchdown, and was 2-of-8 for 68 yards through the air.
Also, Jaxon Barnhouse ran six times for 25 yards, and Van Wood collected 8 yards on six carries.
Defensively, Wood paved the way with seven tackles (3 tackles for loss) and 0.5 sacks. Anderson Eades had 5.5 tackles (TFL), Kolton Eades logged five tackles (two TFL) and 0.5 sacks, Dixon had 4.5 tackles (two TFL), Cyrus Taylor had four tackles (two TFL), Barnhouse and Dickerson provided three tackles each, Brown had 2.5 tackles, Parker Holly and Payton Beard each had a tackle, Gage Eades had 0.5 tackles, and Preston Eades picked off two Fayetteville passes, including returning one 32 yards for a pick-six score.
"This was an emotional week; the defensive staff did an excellent job getting the boys ready," said MTMS head coach Nick Mooney. "They played physical, which we had lost that recently."
"Fayetteville was a class act and treated us like family," Mooney added. "Our gratitude cannot be expressed."
"I needed our team this week on a personal level and they were nothing short of amazing," said Mooney, the uncle of Midland Trail High player Damon Mooney, who passed away last week in an automobile crash. "They know I love them and I know they love me, that is very comforting to me.
"This was a good team win. We have some key skill players banged up and others stepped up big time. Riley Dixon put teams on notice tonight. Our defense swarmed to the ball, which was great to see, old school Midland Trail football was back. Van Wood and Kolton Eades were big up front and on the edge. Then Preston Eades had two interceptions, returning one for a score when we really needed a stop."
----The previous week, Valley PK-8 easily handled Midland Trail, 40-10.
For Midland Trail, Rayce Dickerson had four carries for 18 yards and was 5-of-10 for 74 yards, a touchdown and an interception passing-wise. Also, Jaxon Barnhouse had five rushes for 7 yards, Van Wood gained 12 yards in three carries and caught a 1-yard pass, Jacob Brown had a 1-yard rush, caught two passes for 26 yards and contributed a two-pointer, Kolton Eades had a 1-yard carry and hauled in a 35-yard TD reception, Preston Eades provided a 13-yard reception, and Riley Dixon booted a 41-yard punt.
For the MTMS defensive unit, Kolton Eades registered seven tackles, which included four tackles for loss. Also, Wood compiled five stops (two TFL) and a safety, Dickerson had four tackles (TFL), Brown provided three tackles (three TFL), Cyrus Taylor had a pair of tackles (TFL), Barnhouse and Dixon (TFL) logged two tackles each, and Anderson Eades, Parker Holly and Preston Eades had one tackle apiece.
"We have kids stepping up learning the game fast. Kolton Eades is going to be special," said Trail coach Nick Mooney. "The game got away from us early and our kids did not respond well. We have to be mentally tougher. We have too much experience for that to happen."
"Valley has a special athlete (Malachi Hope), nothing can be taken away from his efforts," Mooney added. "He made plays and we did not."
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