Friday night was a memorable one for 8 seniors as it served as their final regular season stand on their home field. Payton Green, Chance Esparza, Logan Speer, Mike Hart, Jace Shinn, Devun Salazar, Preston Smith and Eilliott Carpenter were honored with their parents, and fellow classmates who also participated in fall activities. Coach Beckner said, “Senior nights are always tough, of course you always want to win the ball game, but tonight these 8 players truly understand the bigger picture, you can play all the other sports again for fun in college or past college, but you only get a certain amount of time you can lace up the cleats, strap the helmet up and go bang. I am so proud of these seniors. They all have great opportunities to do great things in the future.”

Through the emotions and tears of senior night festivities before the game, there was still a battle to be had against a visiting state ranked team in the Butler Bears (ranked #5 in Class 2). Last year it was a tough battle with losing by 5 points. This year’s battle was not as close in score but felt in play, as both teams brought a physical presence to the field. Butler took the contest 28-0. Beckner added, “We had a tough time sustaining our blocks and hitting the holes quick enough, credit to their defense. They showed a lot more speed in person than on film. I knew they were going to try to hit hard but I felt we hit them just as hard. Game just didnt go the way we needed tonight. We will get back to work and start preparing for another really good team next week.” The team Beckner reference for Eldo’s week 9 opponent is state ranked #2 Fair Grove. This will be the second meeting between the two schools in the past three years.

The night was also special in recognition of the Eldo Youth football team, as the flag, 3rd/4th, and 5th/6th grade teams were on hand to make a tunnel for the varsity team to run through and be recognized at halftime of the game. “It is so fun to see those little guys be excited to be part of the program. We try to have the older guys go down and help coach the youth when they are able. It is part of leaving a legacy. What type of senior player do you want to remember as? We are fortunate to have some good examples for youth.”

As stated previously, the Bulldog will take on #2 ranked Fair Grove on Friday at 7pm in Fair Grove. It will be the last regular season game for the Bulldogs as district play begins week 10. “We are close to the second season starting up. You never know what can happen come playoffs, I have seen some crazy stuff happen. We just have to keep focused on ourselves, and take it one game at a time.”