10/04/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO - The Flora Wolves came out as flat as a day old, opened can of soda on Saturday afternoon in their contest on the road at Eldorado.

The host Eagles came out and took it to the Wolves, taking a 22-14 halftime lead as the Flora defense didn't stop Eldorado until the final seconds of the second quarter.

But head coach Brian Tackett opened up a fresh pop bottle at halftime and Flora came out with a “crisp” defensive effort in the final 24 minutes.

Their bulldozing running back Kormik Massie took care of the offense in the final two quarters and the Wolves escaped with a road victory.

The senior fullback romped to 248-yards on 25 grueling carries and three touchdowns as the Wolves rebounded from their first defeat of the season last week with a 28-22 win that put a damper on the Eldorado Homecoming.

At 5-1, Flora is not only looking for another playoff berth but perhaps a high enough seed in the postseason to get a home game in the opening round.

Eldorado's playoff hopes took a huge hit, dropping to 2-4 on the season. The Eagles must win their final three regular season contests to become playoff eligible.

“That first half, we just couldn't stop them. We just didn't have an answer. We were flat, it's a Saturday and it's hot, a long bus ride. They (Eldorado) had a lot going for them. They came out with a lot of energy with it being their Homecoming,” said Coach Tackitt. “Coach Clark has his kids ready to play. We've never had an easy game with them. He does a great job and we knew it was going to be a dog fight. We did a few things better in the second half.”

Senior quarterback Parker Helm only threw two passes on the day with a single completion to junior Zane McKinney for 10-yards.

McKinney also rushed for 30-yards and a touchdown for Flora.

Eldorado was led by senior Maddex Rash with 115-yards on the ground on 15-attempts.

Senior back Kaiden Henson scored all three of the Eldorado touchdowns and finished up with 21-carries and 95.yards.

Eldorado also got 30-yards rushing from sophomore Bryson Talkington on five attempts.

Senior quarterback Jordan Jones completed 2-of-4 passes but for only three total yards along with an interception.

Coach Joe Clark and his Eagles had a last chance at tying the game or perhaps winning the game in regulation had they scored a late touchdown.

However a failed fourth down attempt with just under a minute left doomed the hosts.

Facing a fourth-and-one at the Flora 34, the Eagles were stopped for a loss on a swing pass from Jones to Rash on the left side.

Flora swarmed to the Eldorado running back and stopped him for a five-yard loss that sealed the victory.

However the story of the contest was the wake up call at halftime by Flora and Massie punishing the Eagles' defense on the ground.

Eldorado started out strong, taking the opening kickoff and going 70-yards on 10-plays that took less than five minutes of playing time.

Rash went 29-yards on a run to reach the Flora one-yard line.

Henson scored on the next play and Rash scored diving into the endzone pylon on a two-point conversion for an 8-0 advantage with 7:17 remaining in the first quarter.

Flora quickly scored on its first possession, traveling 57-yards on just four plays.

Massie went 40-yards down the left sideline before being dragged down at the Eldorado two.

The senior back finished the drive by plowing into the endzone on the next play.

A two-point conversion pass, after a five-yard penalty on the Wolves, with Helm hitting tight end Hudson Kohn, added the PAT for an 8-8 tie.

As the defenses for both teams had issues, the offenses for both teams flourished in the early going.

The Eagles drove straight down the field for the their next score taking 11-plays.

A 12-yard run by Henson on a third-and-six from the Flora 20 gave Eldorado a first-and-goal at the eight.

On a third-and-one on the first play of the second quarter, Henson scored on a one-yard run.

Talkington scored on a PAT run for a 16-8 Eldorado lead.

Of the next eight plays by Flora after taking the kickoff, Massie ran five of them.

His 24-yard run on a third-and-two from at the Eldorado 25, made it first-and-goal at the one.

McKinney scored on the next play to cut the lead to 16-14.

Flora failed on the PAT run as McKinney was stopped short of the goal line.

The hosts ate up over seven minutes of clock on its next scoring march.

The 69-yard drive took 13-snaps and featured a pair of third-down conversions.

A late hit on a run by Jones tacked on yards to get the ball to the Flora 14.

Facing a fourth-and-inches from the four, Henson scored on a four-yard dive up the middle.

Although a PAT pass was incomplete, Eldorado took back the lead at 22-14 with just 1:04 left in the second quarter.

Flora nearly handed Eldorado more points before halftime.

Helm, after completing the first pass of the next drive, threw a pass that was intercepted by Eldorado's Drayson Grathler at the Eldorado 35.

The Eagles reached the Flora 40-yard line but a long pass from Jones intended for Rash was picked off by Flora senior defensive back Gage Dugan at the Wolves two-yard line with :02.6 left.

Helm kept the ball and ended the eventful first half with a run up the middle as the two teams went to the halftime after combining for 36-points.

The second half belonged to the visitors.

After a touch back on the second half kickoff, Flora took just eight-plays to roll 80-yards down the field for a score.

Massie did the heavy lifting, covering 59 of the yards himself.

The final 14-yards was a run by Massie blasting his way into the endzone for the score.

The two-point conversion run was stopped short but the Wolves were back in the game at 22-20.

Flora got their second defensive stop of the contest on the Eagles' next possession.

Eldorado worked their way into Flora territory before being stopped on a third-and-eleven.

Jones was brought down behind the line of scrimmage by sophomore defensive back Memphis Moore.

Henson's fourth down punt went into the endzone giving the ball back to the Wolves at the 20-yard line with 1:52 left in the third quarter.

Five consecutive runs by Massie accumulated 32-yards and a McKinney run ended the quarter with Flora at the Eldorado 46.

It took six more plays but the Wolves got their first lead of the game with 9:35 left.

Massie added another huge run, going 18-yards up the middle to the Eldorado eight.

The senior running back scored three plays later from three-yards out.

He added a two-point conversion, dragging a pair of Eldorado defenders into the endzone for a 28-22 advantage.

Flora came up with a pair of big defensive plays to stop the Eagles and pick up the important victory.

Eldorado got into the Flora side of the field but on a third-and-two on the Wolves' 35, senior linebacker Andrew Shelby stopped Henson for just a yard gain, setting up the final offensive play by the Eagles.

The pass from Jones to Rash was meant to fool the Wolves.

It didn't fool anyone on the Flora defense.

Rash was swarmed under near the Wolves' sideline, with the first hit coming from Moore, and stopped for a loss with Flora taking over the ball at their own 39 with 4:14 remaining.

“We came up with the big defensive plays. Andrew (Shelby) and Memphis (Moore) played really well as did the rest of our defense,” said Coach Tackitt. “Any time you get a win in the conference, especially on a Saturday, is big. We talk about being 1-0 each week. At the end of the day we're 1-0 this week. We will take a road win today.”

Coach Tackitt's squad ran out the clock with Massie getting a pair of first down runs, converting a third-and-three at the Eldorado 43 with a seven-yard run to ice the game.

With no timeouts remaining, the Eagles watched Helm take a pair of kneel downs to end the contest.

“We knew that if we could get an extra stop and get the ball back to him (Massie) we would be okay,” said Coach Tackitt about his top running back. “He is the heartbeat of this team. We knew if we could get that stop that he would run out the clock for us.”

Flora will host Fairfield next Friday while Eldorado will have another Saturday matinee next week on the road at Red Hill.

The Eagles will have to run the table to get to the playoffs with road games at Red Hill and Sesser-Valier/Waltonville before hosting winless Carmi-White County in Week Nine.

“Hopefully we can get a home playoff game so if we have to play on Saturday, we can deal with it at home,” said Coach Tackitt.