Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Pleasant Home Eagles and Fruitdale Pirates scratched and clawed with each other for a full four quarters Friday night, but it was ultimately the Eagles that secured the victory, 14-6.

The two teams’ defensives managed to hold the opposition in key moments. However, that was not true for the first play of the game. After the kickoff, the first handoff went to Pleasant Home’s sophomore running back Jacob Bryan who busted through the line and jolted 71 yards into the end zone to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead. That first-play score was the only score of the first half.

Meanwhile, the Pirates’ first drive ended quickly as Jack Wiggins, another sophomore for the Eagles, hauled in an interception.

After the Eagles possession ended at the Pirate 38 on downs, Fruitdale began its longest drive of the game. The Pirates got the ball to the 23 when senior Eagle Zamarion Parker got to the quarterback for a sack and 13-yard loss. But, the Pirates continued along, getting as close as the 5-yard line, where the Eagle defense held on fourth-and-goal as the first quarter came to a close.

The Eagle defense came up big again on its next outing, as Parker once again put pressure on the quarterback, leading to a fumble and recovering by Logan Cook.

The two defenses continued to keep the opposition offenses at bay through the first half and the third quarter. Late in the third, the Eagles ended a Pirate possession with its second interception of the game, this one by Tyler Purifoy.

The Eagles would take possession after the interception and drive the ball to the Pirate 23 where the drive stalled on downs. On a 2nd-and-12 play, Purifoy came through again, tipping an out-pass into his own hands and running it the rest of the way into the end zone. A 2-point conversion run by Bryan was good, lifting the Eagles to a 14-0 lead with 6:58 to go in the game.

The Pirates were not ready to quit and they found some success in the passing game with quarterback Brantlee Seal and fullback Brock Williams, who proved to be tough for Eagle defenders to bring down. The two connected on three consecutive plays early in the drive, ultimately leading to an 11-yard connection for Fruitdale’s first touchdown of the game. A 2-point conversion attempt was no good as the Eagles maintained a 14-6 lead with 4:40 to go.

The Eagles managed to take some time off the clock on the next possession, but had to punt with 38 seconds to go. Fruitdale took some shots downfield, but the Eagle defense held to secure the win.

Pleasant Home (1-1) opens region play next with its first road trip of the season, taking on Brantley (1-0).