By Ryan Droney
It’s been another fantastic year for the Ellicottville peewee Eagles, who finished the regular season with a five and one record under head coach Brad Hurly; four of their five victories coming by way of consecutive shutouts. An impressive feat considering that the team of twenty-three featured only three 3rd year players, and fifteen first year players who have never taken a snap in a coached league.
Brad Hurly, who finishes his 13th year of coaching the Eagles, will be taking his team to the play-offs in the coming weeks. Sunday, October 2nd was “only the second regular season game we’ve lost in three years” says Hurly; the loss game at the hands of the Allegany-Limestone Gators in a day of bitter rain and cold. Assistant Coach Jess Stuve is “excited to see how we come back from the loss” and has confidence in a good postseason run, saying, “we have a good chance of going a long way in the playoffs”.
Overall, Hurly is extremely happy with the season and team that is “one of the youngest and smallest in the league; there is a 125 pound weight limit and only three of my players are over 100 pounds.” When asked if anything stuck out this season, Hurly quickly answered, “everyone stepped up and played really well this season; it was a total team effort”, adding he is “so proud of all the kids, they have come a long way since day one and I’m proud of every one of them”.
Nicole Rust, mother of two Eagle players – Jonah Rust (second year) and Hayden Rust (first year) – spoke of the season, saying she was “very proud of the team. For such a young team with so many first year players they have proven themselves to be a strong group. Some of the kids were told they shouldn’t expect to win many games because of the inexperience, but they proved them wrong when they won five in a row with four coming by way of shut-out”. Speaking of the coaching staff, Mrs. Rust has nothing but praise; “They put a lot of time and energy into the practice and the coaches give a slot of their time for these kids. I believe it is a combination of great coaching and dedicated players that have brought them this far, and I believe they can win it all”.
If the Eagles win their playoff round, they will have a chance to compete in the league’s super bowl game. Regardless of how the postseason ends, the Eagles have had a season to remember. Hurly says he is already excited for next season, which looks to be a promising one. “Only five players are moving up to midgets, so we should have a really solid team next year” mentions the coach, who looks to build on the growing talent he coached this year in his 14th season in 2012.
