Eisenhower quarterback Kenneth Guiton scored a touchdown with less than 3 minutes to go in the game which ended up being the game winner as the Eagles’ second-half surge was the difference in a 19-14 win over Stratford Saturday night at Thorne Stadium.

This game featured two teams that came into the contest undefeated in District 19-5A play. With two of the district’s top passing quarterbacks (Eisenhower’s Guiton, Stratford’s Andrew Luck) facing off, many would have expected plenty of throwing. But instead it was the ground game and hard-nosed defense that ended up being the tale of the tape.

Early on, both defenses worked hard to establish the momentum of the game. After Guiton completed a few passes, the Eagles found themselves fourth-and-goal on the 1-yard line. A quarterback sneak attempt was unsuccessful as the Spartan defense stood tough.

Then it was Stratford’s turn on offense. After Luck picked up a few first downs through the air, Eisenhower’s Christopher Dennis came up with a fumble recovery. And the Eagles cashed in on this turnover.

Guiton’s completion to Washington Allen for a first down set up a 10-yard touchdown strike to Jaz Reynolds towards the end of the first quarter. But Stratford responded quickly.

Luck started things off with a 25-yard completion to Nick Moore. A pass to BJ Griffin near the red zone was fumbled, but took a positive roll that was in favor of the Spartans when they recovered. On the next play, Luck plunged in for a score.

Stratford would come up big again, but this time on defense. Eisenhower attempted a screen pass, but Spartan linebacker Charlie Jackson intercepted the pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown. For the remainder of the half, neither team really had much productivity offensively.
After half, the Eisenhower and Stratford defenses ignited. The Eagles began putting much more pressure on Luck. And on many of the Eagles’ series, Guiton had the same feeling. But in this half, both teams went to more of a running game.

For Stratford, it was the Rodney Anderson/Tim Graves combo and for Eisenhower it was Curtis McGregor/Greg Lee. Late in the third quarter, Guiton and McGregor’s big runs set up a 34-yard field goal by Oscar Ortez.

The Spartans were forced to punt again on their next possession and that gave the Eagle offense another opportunity. On the first play, Guiton would find Reynolds streaking down the sidelines for a 65-yard gain.

That play set up another Ortez field goal. This one was good from 31-yard out with less than 7 minutes remaining in the game. With the Spartans up by one (14-13), the offense went back to work. But with penalties and Eisenhower’s pass rush that led to a sack, Stratford faced a third-and-25 that was not converted.

Punting out of their own end zone helped the Eagles start their next drive from the Stratford 32-yard line. A couple of big runs by McGregor set up a 7-yard touchdown run by Guiton to give Eisenhower the lead.

With less than 3 minutes in the game, Stratford appeared to be in the 2-minute offense. The Spartans had only one timeout remaining, and it was evident that the offensive crew was aware of that.

Luck connected with receivers Louis Njenge and Daniel James to keep the chains moving. On a roll-out pass, Luck also used his legs to pick up a few first downs to advance the ball inside the Eisenhower 30-yard line.

But on a critical fourth-and-six play, Eisenhower’s Craig Loston intercepted the pass at the 3-yard line to seal the victory for the Eagles.

GAME LEADERS
Passing:
E – Kenneth Guiton 13-of-24, 186 yards, TD, INT
S – Andrew Luck 11-of-23, 155 yards, INT

Rushing:
E – Curtis McGregor 18/121 yards
S – Andrew Luck 12/33 yards/TD

Receiving:
E – Jaz Reynolds 2/75 yards/TD
S – Daniel James 4/62 yards

Interceptions:
E – Craig Loston
S – Charlie Jackson (ret. TD)

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