O’DONNELL – The O’Donnell Eagles defended their home field last Thursday beating the Grady Wildcats 54-26. At times, Grady looked unstoppable with huge offensive gains and big defensive stops. Then at other times, execution was lacking on both sides of the ball that allowed O’Donnell to get much needed first downs, break loose for big gains, and maintain control of the game.
“I was happy with how well we moved the ball. We had 329 total yards with 292 on the ground. We just couldn’t put the ball in the endzone. We had 5 turnovers out of the 12 times we had the ball. Four of the turnovers were inside the 20. And another two drives ended inside the 20 as well,” said Grady coach Jourmain Matta.
He added, “We are really stressing ball security this week along with consistency. I think if we can stay consistent with the good things that we are doing, that will definitely cut down on turnovers.”
Marcus Brown led the Wildcat’s offense with two pass completions for 25 yards. Hunter McAnally added three completions for 12 yards.
On the ground Grady was led by McAnally and Gunner Cherry. McAnally picked up 152 yards and two touchdowns and Cherry added 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Hunter Blaylock finished the game with 30 yards rushing.
The Wildcat’s top receiver was Blaylock with two catches for 18 yards. Colt Carson had one reception for 12 yards and Brown added two catches for seven yards.
Brown converted an extra point kick for two points.
Grady will be on the road this week in Kress. “Kress is a multidimensional team. They have a running back that runs the ball well in their tight formation and they also have a spreadback they can go to. The game plan is to stop those two backs and work at getting in the endzone.