The Aplington-Parkersburg football team remained within striking distance for the most part, but had its season end with a 38-14 loss at #6 (1A) Wilton in a first round playoff game Friday, as aired on 99 The Wave.
After surrendering a touchdown to Wilton on the game’s opening drive, the Falcons fumbled a few plays into their first possession. AP forced a turnover on downs, and Devan Eberhart capped off a drive with a three-yard touchdown carry to take a 7-6 lead. The Falcons recovered a Beaver fumble on the kickoff, but fumbled it back to Wilton a few plays later. A 26-yard touchdown run by Wilton’s Owen Hassell near the end of the first half gave the Beavers a 12-7 halftime lead.
With a chance to take the lead on the first possession of the third quarter, the Falcons drove to the red zone, but were stopped on a fourth down. Defensively, the Falcons had trouble getting off the field on third down, and Wilton responded with four more touchdowns in the second half, while holding AP to punts and intercepting two passes to seal the win. Benny Waller added a five-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter after the game was already out of reach.
Interim coach Aaron Thomas says his team came into the game with a winning mindset and gave itself a chance.
“I just thought we fought the whole game, that’s something we’ve been working on all year,” Thomas says. “When things kind of went bad, at times we’ve spit the bit and then it got bad. But the guys kept battling, kept playing. And I just appreciate their attitude from the start. They came in here expecting to win and you could see that. Unfortunately in the first half, we hurt ourselves with some turnovers and things. I really think we were moving the ball, we kind of had them on the ropes in the first half. We needed to get more out of that. But just super proud of the kids and appreciate their fight and their work ethic all year.”
The Falcons committed five turnovers, with two fumbles and three interceptions. Creyton Eberhart had 22 carries for 106 yards, and Mason Pruisner had 15 carries for 63 yards.
AP has ended its season at 2-7.
Aaron Thomas interview:
