BETHALTO – The Civic Memorial Eagles were in no hurry Friday night at Hauser Field, but they made it clear early on that they wanted to rush things.

Following their overpowering offensive line, the Eagles running backs charged through gaping holes and rushed for almost 400 yards in a 46-15 defeat of Salem. CM is now 2-0 on the season. Salem is 0-2.

Get The Latest News!

Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.

“I was really surprised,” said CM coach Mike Parmentier. “I preached about getting better because I really thought there was a huge difference between teams in Week 1 and 2. Salem has some big kids. Our kids did a great job with the ground game and then our quarterback did a great job of settling down and throwing a few passes so they couldn’t just put everybody in the box,”

Quarterback Brayden Pierce only threw the ball eight times, connecting on four of them. But he knew his best delivery was handing off to a bevy of Eagle back.

Article continues after sponsor message

Nick Newell got the most work, rushing 15 times for 144 yards; Camryn Gerhardt ran nine times for 81 yards including touchdown runs of 7 and 8 yards; Rikky Lafferty scored on runs of 27 and 1 yard en route to 71 yards on 10 carries; and Corey Price ran eight times for 62 yards and a touchdown. Pierce added the sixth rushing touchdown on a quarterback sneak.

In all, seven different Eagles rushed the football for 377 yards. The Eagles rolled up 270 yards rushing last week against Alton Marquette.

“Our starting line did a tremendous job,“ Parmentier said. “We kind of went with the hot hand and Nick was pretty hot tonight. But we were able to offset him with some other guys. We’re keeping our guys healthy and giving them some breaks.”

On defense, CM forced four turnovers, including a 22-yard interception return for touchdown by David Lane.

“I was really worried about their ground game because their pretty big,”Parmentier said. “But our defense played well against them. We had a shutout for almost three quarters. I’m really pleased with how we played on both sides of the ball.”

More like this:

Oct 18, 2024 - Tigers Travel To East St. Louis For Matchup With Flyers, Several Other Rivalry Games On Tap This Week

Oct 25, 2024 - Playoff Berths On The Line, Teams Attempt To Solidify Playoff Spots In Final Regular Season Week Of Football Season  

Oct 18, 2024 - West Plays At East In The Battle Of Belleville

3 days ago - Senior Lyons Shines with 230 Yards Passing and Three TDs: East Side Crushes Springfield 67-0

Oct 4, 2024 - Althoff Hosts Collinsville, West Goes To East Side, East Meets O'Fallon, In Week Six Football Match-Ups