The Okolona Chieftains finished their first game of region play just where they wanted to be.

"1 and 0," smiled Coach Calvin Aldridge.

But if the Chiefs thought they were going to roll over their opponents on their way to an easy win, they had a sideline full of people who disagreed - the Falkner Eagles.

Coach Nicky Nance's Eagles, once known as one of the weaker programs in 1A, are showing sparks and positive movement with a one-two punch of junior QB Will Robertson and his favorite RB-receiver Michael Prather. Add junior Tyler Hearn into the mix and the Eagles offense can make some strides and did in their bout with the Chiefs. The defensive line lacked consistency, but bowed up to make some big stops and hold the Chiefs to only 20 points.

"Hats off to Falkner," Aldridge said. "They played hard."

But the Chiefs played harder and came away with the 20-12 win.

Aldridge used his own one-two punch to move downfield with senior Kentray Ware using his speed and agility to eat up the yards on the ground and junior Martavious Ford relying on power and force to punch the ball across the goal line.

Under sloppy field conditions, the Chiefs kept the goal in mind to enter region play with a win.

"They stayed with it, stuck with it," Aldridge said of the muddy win.

By the quarters

The Chiefs received and looked to be on a drive to goal with ware gaining a first down and chewing up seven more yards for Levaughn Jones to complete the second first down. Ware ran the ball inside the 20, but the Eagles defense rose to the challenge and denied two runs. QB Zack Brooks was unsuccessful in finding a receive and the Chiefs turned over on downs.

The Falkner offense was slow to start, going three-and-out and the Chiefs revived their drive with Ford dragging several Eagles with him for a six yard gain on first down. Derrick Ivy made a picture-perfect 40 yard run for TD, but had it negated by a blocking penalty and the Chiefs returned to the thirty. Antwon Grady's run brought the Chiefs back to the nine-yard line, but the Eagles defense again held the line and forced the fourth-and-long pass that went incomplete to end the quarter.

The second quarter started with the ball in Falkner's possession, but a fumble recovered by the Chiefs put the Okolona boys inside the red zone with the ball at the 15. Ryan Isbell carried to the nine-yard line and Ford pushed across for the first of his three Chieftain TD. Antwon Ivy's PAT was good for a 7-0 lead.

The Eagles tried for a drive, but QB Robertson met Kelsey Blanchard and Malcolm Pickens head on for a sack and the next play saw a turnover to the Chiefs. Ford and Fred Ward combined ground yards for a gain, but a penalty set the Chiefs back on their drive. Brooks went to the air for third and fourth long but found too much traffic for a completion and the Eagles regained possession on downs.

The Eagles offense mounted a drive with QB Robertson doing much of the leg work and made their way to the Okolona 35 before a pass play was picked off by Ware who returned across the 50 and inside the red zone before being stopped. The Chiefs held the ball for the final seconds to go into the half up 7-0.

Second half battle

Both teams came out with more fire and determination in the second half with Falkner receiving and Prather keeping things on the ground for a first down. On second and ten, Robertson felt the pressure and scrambled, but Blanchard got the first contacct and A. Ivy and Zach Pierce finished the sack and the Chiefs regained possession on downs.

D. Ivy gained the first down on a pass from brooks and Ware ran for a second, but the Eagles defense held the Chiefs and forced a punt that was blocked by Prather to put the Falkner boys in good field position on the Okolona 37. Robertson's pass to Hunter Hopkins was good for a first down to the 20 and a bad snap on a wet ball was handled in the best possible way by Robertson who hit Prather in the corner of the endzone for the first Eagles score. The conversion failed, leaving the Eagles trailing 7-6.

The Chiefs ramped up their effort on defense putting Isbell and Ware on the run for back-to-back first downs to end the quarter with the Chiefs on the Falkner 33 yard-line.

The fourth quarter was where the ball game truly began with Isbell and Ware combining for yardage and Brooks keeping to copmlete the first down. Another Isbell-Ware combo pushed the Chiefs deeper into Eagle territory and Ford again punched the TD home. A. Ivy's PAT was good for a 14-6 Okolona lead, but the Eagles weren't ready to roll over and play dead.

After receiving to the 35 and suffering a loss on first down, Robertson kept and broke loose, shaking off and evading a field full of Chieftain defense on his way to a 58-yard TD. The conversion pass was broken up by Ware but the Eagles were knocking on the door at 14-12.

The Eagles went for an onside kick, but Okolona's Rudell Fells got the recovery and Ware got a "break loose" moment of his own for a 20-yard gain and added two more runs to set up Ford for a 26-yard run for TD. The Eagles blocked A. Ivy's PAT but the Chiefs had a 20-12 cushion and sent the defense in to finish things off.

Isbell got the stop on first down and A. Ivy got a sack on the next play. Casey Gathings, Marquez Conway, Pickens and Ladarrius Betts formed a wall and dropped Robertson on third down to force the punt. The Chiefs struggled against the Eagles defense and went for the punt with Ware recovering his own fumble and gaining a first down, but the Eagles stood strong and regained one final possession. With 31 seconds on the clock, Robertson tried all four downs to find a receiver, but instead found too much Chieftain traffic and Okolona gained possession as the clock ran down, keeping a hard-fought 20-12 win at home.

Ware hd 152 on 17 carries and Ford gained 86 yards and three TD on 14 carries.

Upcoming action

With region play underway, the stakes get higher every week and Aldridge took the Falkner win with his eyes wide open.

"It was a struggle," Aldridge said. "But with region games, it's supposed to be."

The Chiefs will enter the next six games with every one of them counting toward a playoff berth. Okolona will travel to Wheeler this Friday and host an improved Biggersville team on Oct. 9. They will face a region powerhouse in the Vardaman Rams on Oct. 16 on the road and host Thrasher on Oct. 23. Trips to Smithville on Oct. 30 and Coldwater on Nov. 6 will round out division play.

October kickoffs move back to 7 p.m. each Friday.