Houston High school coach Eric Sloan says football is similar to life. If so, the Tigers’ season opener provides an opportunity to learn to bounce back from disappointment.
“When you’re wife gets mad at you, what are you going to do? Are you going to shut down and fold the towel?” Sloan said Friday after the Tigers’ 35-0 home loss to Ash Grove. “So much of football is perseverance and how you handle situations. Things are going to happen. Your dog will get ran over. Your kids will get sick. Your pay will get cut or you’ll lose your job.
“You’ve got to keep fighting for those around you and those you care about. We preach that.”
Houston’s inexperienced roster –– with just one offensive and two defensive starters returning –– was no match for a veteran Ash Grove team. The Tigers were outgained 446-108 and shut out for the first time in 28 games.
Sloan said he and his coaching staff keep preaching patience with a young team led by a sophomore quarterback and completely new offensive and defensive lines.
“Our youth and inexperience really showed,” Sloan said. “You look out there at times and there are three, four or five sophomores on the field. That’s something we never had to do last year.”
HHS (0-1) managed to stay within striking distance with an impressive goal line stand to end the first half. The Tigers stopped quarterback Chase White on three straight runs inside the 5-yard-line, including a sneak attempt from the 2 as time expired, and only trailed 14-0.
But it could have easily been closer. Houston twice had the ball inside the red zone in the first half and failed to score.
Sloan believes the team’s offseason was the culprit. He said participation in the weight room was half what it was the previous summer.
“We told them at halftime, ‘We didn’t have a very good summer, and it’s evident,’” he said.
Led by Spencer Eagleburger, Ash Grove ran the ball 41 times for 395 yards in the victory. Eagleburger did the most damage as he gained 216 yards on just 12 carries and had touchdown runs of 75 and 55 yards.
White, who had a 24-yard touchdown run to start the Pirates’ scoring, and Paul Chavez had 89 and 85 rushing yards.
Houston had offensive issues against an Ash Grove defense that returned several starters from its conference’s top defense in 2015. The Tigers managed just 45 rushing yards on 34 attempts. Senior Chance Hunter led HHS with 17 carries for 64 yards.
Houston senior Chance Hunter carries the ball in the first half of Friday’s season opener against Ash Grove.
Sophomore Paydon Dixon was 8-of-13 passing for 63 yards. Evan Richardson had three receptions for 33 yards.
Houston was burnt by big plays as Ash Grove scored four times on plays of 19 yards or more.
“We got in some bad situations defensively,” Sloan said. “We had to blitz a lot and when you get kids moving in the wrong direction, all of the sudden you’re exposed. A blitz is either really good or it exposes you. We’re so young that it helps to get our kids moving a little pre-snap. Sometimes it bites you.”
Trailing 14-0, Houston got its first scoring chance when Hunter had a 29-yard scamper and Dixon hit Connor Clifton for an 11-yard gain to move the ball to the Ash Grove 10. But the Tigers never got closer to the end zone and turned the ball over on downs.
Another opportunity came four plays later when HHS senior Cameron Root picked off a White screen pass in the flat. But the Tigers, who started on the 17, moved backward with two penalties and never got closer to the end zone.
HHS senior Cameron Root is congratulated by assistant coach Boulder McKinney after his first-half interception.
“It’s a growing process. We have to keep fighting every day.” Sloan said. “I’m excited about the future. We have to hold each other accountable, make each other go harder in practice and keep believing.”
BOX SCORE
Ash Grove 14 0 14 7 –– 35
Houston 0 0 0 0 –– 0
First Quarter
AG –– White 24 run (kick failed), 8:50.
AG –– Eagleburger 75 run (White run), 1:16.
Third Quarter
AG –– White 2 run (Byerly kick), 7:21.
AG –– Eagleburger 19 pass from White (Byerly kick), 0:57.
Fourth Quarter
AG –– Eagleburger 55 run (Byerly kick), 6:22.
——
AG HOU
First downs 16 6
Total yards 446 108
Rushes-yards 41-395 34-45
Passing 51 63
Punt returns 0 0
Kickoff returns 0 91
Comp-att-int 5-10-1 8-13-0
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 2-14
Punts 1-22.0 4-13.8
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-1
Penalties-yards 9-82 8-52
——
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING –– Ash Grove, Eagleburger 12-216, White 17-89, Chavez 10-85, Benton 1-5, Trammel 1-0. Houston, Hunter 17-64, Alston 5-6, Clifton 1-1, Richardson 2-(minus 9), Dixon 9-(minus 17).
PASSING –– Ash Grove, White 5-10-1 51. Houston, Dixon 8-13-0 63.
RECEIVING –– Ash Grove, Eagleburger 1-19, Soper 2-16, Branham 2-16. Houston, Richardson 2-33, Clifton 4-24, Clayton 1-6.
Week 1 scores
Ash Grove 35, Houston 0
Jefferson 26, Cabool 24
Salem 26, McDonald Co. 6
Hayti 26, Thayer 0
Ava 42, Mansfield 13
Willow Springs 40, Miller 21
Liberty 39, Cape Central 20
Mtn. Grove 35, Aurora 21
Week 2 games
Houston at St. James
Liberty at Aurora
Hollister at Cabool
Marionville at Willow Springs
Strafford at Mountain Grove
Sumner at Salem
Thayer at New Madrid