Eagles edge Tripoli to earn UNI-Dome trip

     A second half surge and two big plays that came out of its own mistakes led the Midland Eagles to a 52-50 victory over Tripoli in the Eight-player state quarterfinal football playoffs Friday, Nov. 3 in Wyoming.

     Austin Smith carried 47 times for 299 yards and scored three of Midland’s seven touchdowns, but the Eagles’ ability to turn its own miscues into points proved to be the difference.

     With the win, Midland (9-2) advanced to the state semifinals in the UNI-Dome, and was scheduled to play a morning game against defending state champion Don Bosco (11-0) Thursday, Nov. 9 at 9:06 a.m.

     Against Tripoli, Midland twice rallied from a two-score deficit before pulling ahead in the fourth quarter.

     “It was a battle all night,” Midland coach Casey Hack said.

     Midland got first half touchdowns on an eight-yard pass from Britan Martens to Carter Mohr, a 39-yard run by Smith, and a 31-yard Martens-to-Mohr pass.

     Despite that, the Eagles trailed 34-20 at halftime.

     Midland got within four points on a two-yard run by Smith and a two-point conversion, also by Smith, but the Panthers answered back with a 63-yard scoring run by Tripoli’s Marquise Paino (18 carries, 171 yards), and a two-point pass, to lead 42-28 midway through the third quarter.

     Then, the comeback began. The Eagles scored on a 24-yard run by Martens, and a two-point pass from Martens to Fisher Bisinger cut the deficit to 42-36.

     Then, with about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Smith scored on a six-yard run, then passed to Mohr for a two-point conversion that put the Eagles ahead 44-42.

     Tripoli’s next series ended at its 34-yard line when Mohr knocked down a Panther pass on fourth down.

     Midland drove to the Tripoli 1-yard line, and on second down, an Eagle fumble was picked up by Bisinger, who ran in for the score to put the Eagles ahead 50-42.

     On the two-point conversion, another Midland fumble was picked up by Smith, who ran left and then threw the ball across the field from the 27-yard line, finding Mohr for the two points that put the Eagles up by 10, 52-42, with 2:14 to play.

     “We came up with a late score on a botched play that gave us an eight-point lead, and then after another botched play, Austin Smith made a remarkable play to find Carter Mohr for the two-point conversion,” Hack said.

     Tropoli then drove 60 yards in nine plays, scoring on a tipped pass, and cutting the margin to 52-50 with 53.7 seconds left. But an onside kick was recovered by Midland’s Jensen Dodge. Since the Panthers were out of time-outs, the Eagles were able to run out the clock to end the game.

     Midland converted five of its seven two-point tries for the night.

     “We needed every one of them,” Hack said.

     Midland gained 488 total yards to Tripoli’s 433. Quarterback Britan Martens and Smith combined for 163 passing yards. Mohr caught four passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Also catching passes were Fisher Bisinger, Smith, Martens and Drew Gravel.

     “Offensively we played a pretty good game considering how physical Tripoli was,” Hack said. “We had to earn every yard we got.”

     Defensively, Bisinger recovered a Tripoli fumble. Leading tacklers were Griffin Gravel with eight, Bisinger with 6.5, and four Eagles had four tackles apiece: Brady Pestka, Brett Schoenherr, Hunter Shoaff and Mohr.

     “We knew that Tripoli had a balanced attack with a really good running back,” Hack said. “He definitely got his, but we got stops when we needed them. Fisher Bisinger shadowed Paino and did a great job tackling him. Our coverage guys did a really good job limiting the play-action pass.”

     Tripoli finished 9-2.