Click the thumbnails to see photos and videos, and hear post-game comments from Stephenson's Joey Truitt, Sm Spoude, Dalton Berg, and Coach Logan Carlson.

RAPID RIVER---The Stephenson Eagles rolled up more than 500 yards of offense and dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball, beating the Rapid River Rockets, 52-12, Thursday night on Rockets Senior Night in Rapid River.
 

Stephenson senior quarterback Joey Truitt led the attack with 276 rushing yards on 23 carries, scoring four touchdowns, plus another long one that was called back on penalty.
 

His 54-yard touchdown run in the first quarter opened a 20-0 Eagles lead, and was his best run of the game (that counted) as he accelerated down the sideline in front of the Stephenson bench.

“The first touchdown was super-exciting,” Truitt said. “You just get that adrenaline rush, you know? You see wide open space, and adrenaline hits you. But I couldn't do any of it without the offensive line. That's football. Hopefully, we have next week still, hopefully I can pick it up even more from here next week.”

Indeed, the linemen dominated this game, even after a pair of touchdown passes from Rapid River quarterback Lane Olson to wide receiver Ethan Harrison cut the Stephenson lead to 26-12 in the second quarter. The Eagles defense made life hard on Olson, sacking him nine times.

Junior Dalton Berg led the way with seven tackles for loss as he chases the all-time Stephenson record in that category.

“That's what kept me motivated the whole time,” Berg admitted. “Of course, my line helping me the whole entire time, too, on the offensive and defensive sides. They also kept me motivated the entire time, too.”

Nolan Ruleau opened the scoring with a wide-receiver screen that went to Sam Spoude for a 22-yard touchdown, and then after a Rapid River turnover on downs, Spoude scored a touchdown run to give Stephenson the 14-0 lead.

Truitt says a lot of hard work has gone into this season, both on and off the field, as the Eagles inproved to 3-5 on the season with a tough game against Brimley next Friday night in Stephenson.

“Stay in shape, footwork, and team bonding, of course,” Truitt said.

Spoude was happy for scoring two touchdowns, but even more than that, the win. He had 112 yards rushing to contribute to the Eagles onslaught.

“Honestly, my goal is just to not let a single person bring me down,” Spoude said. “Make 'em need two, three, four at a time. I'll probably get yelled at just a little for cutting too much (on his touchdown run). Coach doesn't like that when I do that. I would have to say that I did better than previous games and that was the improvement that I wanted.”

Stephenson Coach Logan Carlson was pleased with his team's effort.

“Those first few weeks were hard, but they never let down,” he said of his team's losses to top teams early in the season. “This is a special group of kids just because they never let that get to them. They're coachable. Now, we're gradually getting better every week.”

The Eagles host Brimley, and its talented quarterback Travis Lynn, next Friday night. The game will be broadcast live on FM-107.3.

As for the Rockets (2-6), they will close their season on the road against Carney-Nadeau next Saturday. That game will also be broadcast live on FM-107.3.