Eagles drop heartbreaker to winless Fredericktown

East Prairie's Dez Johnson rushed for nearly 200 yards and scored all of East Prairie's points in Saturday's loss.

EAST PRAIRIE -- The East Prairie Eagles fell about 10 yards short in a heartbreaking 26-20 loss to previously winless Fredericktown on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 26-20, with less than five minutes to go and the game on the line, East Prairie (1-4) took possession on its own 30 and marched steadily downfield.

A disastrous holding penalty figured mightily in the Eagles' stalled drive on downs at their opponent's 10-yard line with about a minute left.

"My heart goes out to my kids," said East Prairie coach Jason Aycock. "They played extremely hard, never quit and deserved to win, I thought. For the first time, I walked in the locker room and saw tears. So you know it meant something to them.

"My heart's broken for them. They played their hearts out."

Coming off what Aycock described as "our best practice week of the year," the Eagles, struck first on a 10-yard Dez Johnson run on the opening drive to take the early 8-0 lead.

Johnson, who ran for nearly 200 yards, scored all three Eagle touchdowns and had a 50-yarder called back. East Prairie had two touchdowns wiped out by penalty.

Said Aycock, "We were driving the ball on them the whole game. Penalties killed us, seven holding penalties and a facemask call on a critical fourth-down play."

A short punt into a fierce headwind set Fredericktown up with excellent field position at the East Prairie 30 in the first period. The Black Cats capitalized on the short-field situation to pull within two, at 8-6.

Johnson's second score came in the second quarter to lift the Eagles to a 14-6 halftime lead.

Just prior to the halftime break, East Prairie lost its senior captain, Ben Walters, to a strained knee ligament.

"He's our leader, our glue," said Aycock. "That was a big loss."

Fredericktown (1-4) opened the second half with a quick score to cut the margin to 14-12.

Another Black Cat touchdown handed them their first lead at 18-14, but East Prairie came roaring back on Johnson's third touchdown to cap a 90-yard drive and retake the lead at 20-18.

A fourth-quarter Fredericktown kickoff return to the Eagle 2 proved to be the backbreaker. A plunge for a score and a two-point conversion lifted the Black Cats to the final of 26-20. East Prairie goes on the road to meet winless SEMO Southern Conference opponent Chaffee on Friday.