Football season officially kicked off Friday Night Aug 25th in Stapleton. The Sandhills Valley Mavericks hosted the Southern Valley Eagles from Oxford.
The game was tightly contested up to the end. Ultimately the visiting Eagles were victorious 34-26.
This game had everything a true football fan could ask for - big plays through the air, physical running styles, turnovers, and mistakes from both sides typical for the beginning game of a season.
All week long the hot weather had both teams scrambling to properly prepare for this Week 1 match up, but before game time the skies opened up, cooler weather appeared and even a few umbrellas made their appearance.
Early in the game the Mavericks struggled to move the ball until Junior Quarterback Leyton Connell connected on a long pass to Junior Tight End Kyle Kramer. Connell was able to hit many big passes in the game to the aforementioned Kramer, and Senior Braden Powell.
The running game was led by Juniors BJ Goforth, and Cayson Johnston along with Senior Cooper Layher.
Defensively the Mavericks big guys up front saw a lot of action - Juniors Colton Miller, Kaden Blake and Isaac Goosey seemed to always find themselves around the ball along with Layher and Powell.
The Mavericks start off the season 0-1, but will regroup and hope to get things on the right track as they travel to Bayard next Friday night seeking their first win.