NILES OVERPOWERS THE EAGLES
By Jamie Thomson
NILES, OH – The Niles Red Dragons (3-1) have a NE8 Player of the Year candidate in senior running back Antuan Gardner and a stout defense to match.
Gardner totaled 263 yards of offense and two touchdowns and Niles’ defense held the Hubbard Eagles (3-1) to just 95 total yards in the game, the lowest total Niles has held the Eagles to since 1986.
After starting the game slow, Niles would move the ball at will in the second quarter while totaling 24 points in the period. Gardner punched the first touchdown of the night in from 1 yard out just four seconds in and it wasn’t until over 8 minutes later that Antony Budak would score his only touchdown of the night from a yard out. Gardner would score less than a minute and a half later and Niles would add an additional field goal as time expired.
Coming out of the break, Hubbard would start with terrific field positioning thanks to a great return by Baron Reynolds-Penny. Alex Hackwelder would find the endzone just three and a half minutes later to bring the Eagles to within three scores. Unfortunately for Hubbard, that’s where their scoring would end.
The Niles defense would force three interceptions on the night, one of which came in their own endzone to keep Hubbard’s comeback bid at bay. Defensively, the Red Dragons would go the entire game without a penalty, a stark contrast from the defensive unit on the opposite sideline, who granted multiple first downs in key moments on offsides penalties. The strong defensive effort paired with a monster effort from Gardner gave Niles their first win over Hubbard since 1995, snapping a 16-game losing streak, 27-6.
BIG PERFORMERS
NILES:
Antuan Gardner: 156 rushing yards, 107 receiving yards, 2 total TDs
Anthony Budak: 133 passing yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 passing TD
HUBBARD:
Matthew Chaney: 5 catches, 32 receiving yards
UP NEXT
Niles: Starting off conference play 1-0, the Red Dragons will look to remain unbeaten in the NE8 next week when they travel to Cortland for a matchup with the Lakeview Bulldogs (3-1).Lakeview will come into the matchup off of a 28-21 loss to the defending Division 5 state champion South Range Raiders.
Hubbard: After dropping their first game to the Red Dragons since 1995, the Eagles will return home for a matchup with the undefeated Poland Bulldogs (4-0). Poland has taken three of the last four matchups against Hubbard.
