Eagles fly past Beaver Local
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HUBBARD -- Defense and a stout run game paved the way early for the Hubbard Eagles on Friday, blanking Beaver Local 31-0.
"It was just a great, outstanding all-around defensive effort tonight. From our D-line and linebackers to our secondary," Eagles coach Brian Hoffman said. "I’ll be honest with you, we challenged our secondary during the week, and we said, 'Hey, we need to play a great game because they do a nice job with misdirections and rolling the football,' and I really think they stood up tonight. Our DC, Timmy Schiraldi, coach (Jeff) Songer, coach (Dennis) Parise, coach (Hunter) Meyer, they did a great job in preparing the guys, and coach (Wesley) Best with our D-line. Kudos to those guys, I appreciate them greatly."
Set up by a bruising run by Antonio Burkley that put Hubbard on the 1-yard line, quarterback Dylan BuCher put the Eagles on the scoreboard, punching the ball into the end zone.
After trading punts, BuCher’s leg pinned the Beavers inside the 10-yard line. That’s where Hubbard’s defense took over. The Eagles forced a fumble, recovered by Grayson Cheney to set Hubbard up with six yards to go for another score.
On a fourth-and-goal from the 3, the Eagles gave the ball to Burkley and were rewarded for it. Burkley’s run gave Hubbard a 14-0 advantage midway through the second quarter.
Burkley has grown into a bellcow back for the Eagles throughout the season.
"He had an outstanding game tonight," Hoffman said. "I’ll be honest with you, the last three or four games, he’s really come along. I think as the season’s progressed, we’ve been able to ride him more and more. He’s been able to give us more and more carries, and that’s been beneficial for us."
With one more opportunity to extend their lead before the break, the Eagles went to the passing game. BuCher connected with Colten Yobe on a 31-yard pass to get Hubbard inside the 5-yard line with 30 seconds left in the second quarter.
Senior Nate Reel got the nod, kicking a 20-yard field goal to push the Hubbard lead going into halftime.
Beaver Local began finding some momentum offensively, but the Eagles' defense continued to bend but not break. Hubbard stalled the Beavers' first drive of the second half just outside the red zone, and let the offense take over.
BuCher and Yobe struck after that turnover, this time on a 20-yard play.
Like on the defensive side of the ball, it was an all-around effort offensively as well.
"We moved the ball effectively on the ground, and also kept them off base with some well-timed throws from Dylan," Hoffman said. "Everybody, our offensive line played great, our tight end played great tonight, and I’m very proud of the effort."
On the ensuing possession, Beaver Local got down to the 15, but again, the Eagles' defense bent, but didn’t break. They kept the Beavers off the scoreboard with BuCher intercepting a pass.
Just a few plays later, junior tailback Mike Bobovnik broke through the trenches and powered his way to another Hubbard score.
Hubbard honored its 2001 team before Friday’s game. The 2001 iteration of the Eagles finished the regular season with a TAC-8 championship and a 10-0 record.
"Before the game, I talked to the kids about how this was the first undefeated team in Hubbard history and they’re back tonight. You need to come out and represent yourself well for them. They set the stage, and we’ve been able to carry that on for the last 25 years," Hoffman said. "We’re fortunate that we have that tradition here at Hubbard."
The Eagles (4-3) head to Cortland in Week 8 for a showdown with Lakeview. They close the year with the Northeast 8’s two-headed monster of Girard and South Range.