Just one extra point was all that separated the Ash Grove Pirates from the Stockton Tigers in the first half of their Week Two matchup at Jim Whitesell Stadium. But the Pirates took control in the second half of the Mid-Lakes Conference game with some big plays and key mistakes by Stockton to win 21-12.
The Tigers (1-1, 0-1) got on the board on the opening drive, going 56 yards in 4:50 capped by a 4-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Jake Wheeler. The two-point try failed, leaving the score at 6-0 by the end of the first quarter.
The start of the second period was delayed by about ten minutes as a blown fuse for the stadium lights required replacing. The wait didn’t faze the Pirates (2-0, 1-0) however, as they took the lead on a 14-yard TD run by senior Parker Soper and conversion by Ely Byerly to make it 7-6.
Two minutes of clock time later, Stockton was back in front on a 40-yard pass from Wheeler to Brice Bird to lead 12-7 as again the two-point try came up short.
With 3:47 to go before half, Soper visited the end zone for the second time on a 37-yard strike from junior Chase White as Ash Grove enjoyed a 13-12 advantage at the break.
Pirate coach Ryan Long said of Soper, “That kid is incredible. He’s a kid that I’m trying to find a way to get him the ball. He’s a very unselfish kid; he does whatever you ask of him.”
There was plenty of back and forth in the second half as both defenses came up big putting pressure on the signal-callers. White and Wheeler were both sacked four times on the night.
The decisive sequence came late in the fourth quarter as Ash Grove senior Keagan Hosman recovered a fumble by Stockton senior Mason Brown off a bad shotgun snap. A couple of plays later, White busted out a 52-yard run down to the Stockton 2-yardline, where junior Spencer Eagleburger put the game on ice with a touchdown and two-point conversion.
White rushed 19 times for 101 yards and was 7 of 14 passing for 91 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Soper caught 6 passes for 83 yards, plus his 14-yard touchdown run and two punt returns for 60 yards.
For Stockton, Wheeler was 11 of 22 passing for 107 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also had 40 yards rushing on 14 carries. Bird had 3 catches for 39 yards, and Justin Pfeifer 4 catches for 26 yards. Brown rushed for 51 yards on 18 attempts.
Long said, “Coming into this game, we had to contain Wheeler. He’s an incredible athlete back there. He makes plays and all the receivers move well for him. We pride ourselves on wearing teams down. We condition well each week and we have a lot of depth this year to wear teams down.
Tiger coach Shad Edwards said, “We made some plays. They made some plays. They made a little more than us. I told the kids, ‘You can take the loss and it can either own you and control you, or you learn from it and you move forward.’ It’s how we respond is how it’s going to define us.”
Ash Grove hosts El Dorado Springs next week while Stockton heads to Skyline.
Stockton 6 6 0 0—12
Ash Grove 0 13 0 8—21
First quarter
S—Jake Wheeler 4 run (run failed), 7:10
Second quarter
AG—Parker Soper 14 run (Ely Byerly kick), 10:19
S—Brice Bird 40 pass from Wheeler (run failed), 8:19
AG—Soper 37 pass from Chase White (kick failed), 3:47
Fourth quarter
S—Spencer Eagleburger 2 run (Eagleburger run), 2:26
