The War on the 24 between Rossville & Silver Lake lived up to expectations and then some in the  1st ever game on 96.9 the Pulse as Silver Lake rallied to win in OT over the Bulldogs, 33-26 in the season opener, giving the Eagles their 3rd straight victory in the series.

Rossville scored on their first two drives with a 24 yard field goal by Vincent Daniel followed by a Tayson Horak 3 yard run to take a 10-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter.  Silver Lake’s offense sputtered out of the gates, going 3 and out on their 1st three possessions and didn’t have a first down until 3:26 remaining before halftime.  The Eagles finally put together a 12 play 90 yard drive, but settled for a 21 yard field goal by Dysen Schooler on the final play of the 1st half to trail 10-3 heading into the locker room. 

In the 2nd half, the two rivals began to heat up.  After another short Daniel field goal for Rossville made it 13-3, Silver Lake responded with a 7 play 42 yard drive highlighted by a sensational 37 yard reception by Brody Dieter on a 4th and 11. Schooler would hit junior wideout Dayne Johnson from 5 yards out to cut the deficit to 13-10.  After a Bulldog three and out, Schooler hit Johnson again, this time on a fly pattern on the near sideline for a 56 yard strike to propel the Eagles to their first lead of the night, 16-13, but missed the extra point. 

Rossville struck back with 6:06 left in the 4th thanks to a Conner Bush 7 yard jaunt, but the PAT was missed and Rossville led 19-16.  The Eagles used the big play again to retake the lead, 23-19 with 2:28 to play, as Schooler found JP Whitehead for a 57 yard connection.  Not to be outdone, the Bulldogs converted a 4th and 11 of their own as Horak bought time to extend the play and threw a strike across the field to senior Mahki Jackson for 23 yards to the Eagle 13. A few plays later, the Bulldogs were back in front 26-23 with :35 seconds to play on a one yard plunge by Horak.

With just :35 seconds at their disposal and just one timeout, Silver Lake didn’t panic as Dieter returned a short kickoff to the Eagle 45. After a 23 yard pass to Dieter and a 15 yard toss to Johnson, the Eagles were at the Bulldog 5 yard line and called their final timeout with 1.4 left.  With ice water in his veins and helped out by a terrific hold by Brady Hogle, Schooler calmly drilled a 22 yard FG to force overtime.

In OT, Silver Lake senior Allen Lees scored from 2 yards out, making it the 5th lead change in the 2nd half and meaning the Eagles needed just one stop to seal the win.  Rossville had an opportunity with a receiver open in the end zone, but Johnson laid out with his 6’3 frame and knocked the ball away which led to a 4th down and goal from the 5 for the Bulldogs, but Horak was stuffed at the 2 and Silver Lake won their 3rd straight in this fierce rivalry, 33-26.

Dayne Johnson led the Eagle offense with 10 receptions for 144 yards and 2 scores while Dysen Schooler found his rhythm in the 2nd half, finishing 16-25 for 274 yards and 3 td passes.  Tayson Horak led the Bulldog charge with 154 rushing yards and 2 visits to the end zone.