Photo by Cris Jenkins The Eagles #22 Jason Beisel and #55 Jared Barrows tackle a Sherman Tide runner.

Magnolia’s Patrick Mirandy passed for 173 yards and three touchdowns, and the Big Bad Blue defense stemmed the Tide in winning, 24-0, Aug. 24 on Alumni Field at Bill Stewart Memorial Stadium.

“I can’t say enough about our defense. Our defense played lights-out,” Chapman said. “We pride ourselves on real hard, aggressive defense. Hats off to our guys; I thought our conditioning was good.

“We showed up in the second half; we had a couple of stops, and they had a couple of turnovers. I think we got the momentum going a little bit. Spread them out to run, and we were able to throw.”

The Blue Eagle offense took advantage of a Sherman Tide fumble with 32 seconds left in the opening stanza when Mirandy connected with Sebastian Stickler for a 58-yard score to put Magnolia up 7-0 with 32 seconds left in the first quarter, after Mirandy PAT kick sailed trough the uprights.

“What can you say about Pat Mirandy? Pat’s as good as it gets,” Chapman said. “Offensively, making plays that look like plays that were broken down, and that’s Pat, making bad plays look pretty good. It was a team effort.”

“We said going in we’re going to try and keep the ball in Pat’s hands. And by no means is he just a runner. He has worked tremendously in the off-season, and he is physically, and stronger,” added Chapman.

“We’re asking for him to do a little more in the offense. Again, you saw, a play breaks down; Pat turns into the athlete that he is.”

Neither team would score in the second period, but the Tide was looking to get back into the game on their first possession to begin the third period.

The Tide ran for two straight first downs and looked to cage the Eagles, but a five yard penalty and a tackle for loss of yardage by James Stillwagoner, the Big Blue would take over on downs.

Magnolia would take over at its 30-yard line and travel 70 yards with the help of a couple nice runs by Jason Beisel on six plays that capped-off by a Mirandy to Dakota Litton16-yard touchdown reception, to give Magnolia a 14-0 lead after Mirandy’s PAT kick.

During the touchdown catch, the Tide made two different fouls that included a personal foul, and kicked off at their 49-yard-line. Mirandy’s boot went into the back of the end-zone for a touchback.

The Blue Eagles’ defense used the momentum, and forced a three and out. The Tide punt was shanked out of bounds at the 37-yard line, and the Blue Eagle offense strapped on their helmets and went to work.

However, the Tide would hold Magnolia to a third and 10, but the Sherman defense was guilty of another personal foul and gave the Eagles a first down at their 21-yard line.

After a short gain by Beisel, and an incomplete pass, the Tide committed another infraction that moved the ball a bit closer; however the Eagles quest stalled and Mirandy would split the uprights for a 33-yard field goal to give Magnolia a 17-0 advantage late in the third period.

Mirandy belted the ensuing kick into the end-zone, for a touch-back. The Tide generated eight yards on two plays to end period three, down 17-0.

To open the fourth, the Tide coughed up their second fumble that was recovered by Isaac Keller at the Sherman 28-yard line.

The Eagles went backwards on their next two runs, but Mirandy hit Stickler for a 32-yard touchdown pass to give the hosts a 24-0 lead after the third Mirandy PAT.

“Good football teams capitalize off of good team’s mistakes. I just felt at halftime, we didn’t play well in the first half,” Chapman said. “I don’t think it was first-game jitters. We just had misalignment things we corrected at the half, and we showed what kind of football team we are the second half.

“Our defense… Wow. We got a lot of guys in the picture we covered well. That’s a good football team. Sherman will be in the mix at the end. I told (Sherman) Coach (Michael) Showalter after the game, sometimes you beat good teams, but that doesn’t mean that you are this and they’re down here. They’re a solid team.”

Tommy Harper rushed for 101 yards on 15 attempts for the Tide, while JT Hensly tacked on 53 yards.

For the Blue Eagles, Beisel had 56 yards on 12 attempts, while Mirandy added 33 yards on a dozen tries. Stillwagoner added 20 yards on four carries, while Adams netted seven yards and Logan Beegle five yards on his only carry.

Mirandy threw for 169 yards on seven completions, with Stickler compiling 90 yards receiving on two catches, scoring on both. Gaiser also had two receptions for 60 yards, while Litton hauled in his only completion for 13 yards and a touchdown. Beisel caught two passes for nine yards.

Defensively, Stillwagoner dropped 15 Sherman ball carriers, including 10 solo and one tackle for loss of yardage, while recovering a Tide fumble. Adams also had double-digit tackles with 12, including one for loss of yardage.

Jared Barrows made nine stops, including a pair for loss of yardage. Litton made eight tackles, while Silas McKeever buried seven, including one for loss of yardage. Keller also made a fumble recovery.

Magnolia will next play Williamstown at Bill Stewart Memorial Stadium on Alumni Field, with kick-off scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 31.