Eagles end season undefeated

SEELEY LAKE – It was the second time the Seeley Lake Elementary Eagles faced Hellgate Elementary. With no points on the board and a fourth down, the Eagles connected. The ball was thrown up the flag route to the corner for a finger-tip catch by seventh grader Noah Stone. This set up eighth grader Tyler Haines for the only touchdown of the game.

"That was the game of the year. It was a battle," said Head Coach Brett Haines. "It was incredibly exciting for us to win that one on the road."

The Seeley Lake Elementary Eagles A team soared over their competition this year finishing with a 6-0-1 record. Haines said while at first glance six wins and one tie doesn't seem that impressive, "these were the best teams in the Copper League." This is the first year the team has gone undefeated with him coaching.

"I was pretty excited about our season," said Haines. "Great group of kids that worked hard all year and finished strong. I'm really proud of them."

The Eagles had 24 fifth through eighth graders out for flag football this year. Haines said he also brought up a couple fourth graders to play. Haines coached the A Team and Greg Neudecker and Jimmy Boyd volunteered as the assistant coaches.

"They did a great job helping me out. They traveled, they did it all on their time and they donated it to the school," said Haines. "A big thank you to my two assistant coaches."

The Eagles started out the season on the road against Hellgate who they tied once last year and lost in a tight game in the end. The first game was a blowout with the Eagles shutting them out 34-0. The second game, described earlier by Haines as the "game of the year" they kept them out of the endzone again winning 8-0.

Clark Fork was another tough team that beat the Eagles both games last year. In the first match up, Haines said they were missing one of their best players. They tied 18-18. In the last game of the season, the Eagles came out with a win 12-0 against Clark Fork even after the Eagles had two touchdowns called back.

"It was just fulfilling that we didn't end in a tie with them," said Haines. "It felt really good to go down to Clark Fork and get a win on the road for the kids."

Haines said the Eagle's defense totally dominated some teams. If teams were able to get through the line, the linebackers and the corners usually got them.

"We were so good up in the front line and linebackers and corners that my safeties probably got bored back there sometimes except on pass plays," said Haines laughing.

Philipsburg came the closest to the Eagles with scores 38-24 and 28-20. Haines said this was became he would put his younger players in to give them experience.

"When I had my starting lineup in, we held teams to zero points. We kept the teams out of the end zone and basically they didn't score until the little guys got in," said Haines. "I was pretty proud of our team. Defensively we just stifled people."

Haines said the Eagles were a scoring threat all year. They scored into the 20s and 30s in over half the games.

This year's A team started five eighth graders.

Eighth grader Cody Mason was on the offensive line and played some defense. Haines said he played really well and filled a line position.

"He stepped in and I'm really proud of how he performed," said Haines.

After only playing a partial season last year, eighth grader James Hayhurst returned. He played defensive end. Haines said he really learned how to play the game and was a real asset to the team.

Eighth graders Dylan Wilkinson and Tyler Haines traded in the quarterback and running back positions. Haines said Wilkinson had a strong arm giving them some strong passing plays. Tyler gave them the speed and opened up running options.

"We gave teams different looks with our quarterbacks. Both were outstanding on offense," said Haines. "Teams had a hard time holding us out of the end zone."

And eighth grader Seth Dunster gave the team some speed and a little height. He played receiver, kick-return and punt return. Haines said he gave the team an offensive weapon. Dunster and Haines led the team in touchdowns for the season.

Haines said seventh graders Noah Stone, Quinlan McClure, Kolten Zurmuehlen, Derric Brovold and John Debernardi stepped into starting positions with the A Team. They all were great contributors to the team, really stepping into their positions. Also playing on the A Team was sixth grader Lane Buckner. He played on the line and was a defensive end.

"We were just solid all the way around," said Haines. "We weren't weak at any position."

Haines said there is a good group of fifth and sixth graders as well on the B Team. He is looking forward to maintaining a strong program with a high level of playing in the next few years. "We are pretty excited about the future of Seeley Lake Elementary football."