GATESVILLE – The Gates County Red Barons came up big at the right times.

The Red Barons defeated the pass happy Eagles from Warren County 26 – 15 Friday night. The rushing combination of Ralphael Eason and Kent Reid proved to be too much for the Eagles’ defense, although the Eagles roared back in the second half.

The Red Barons began the game with a methodical eleven play drive, scoring on a one yard dive from Reid with 5:28 left in the first quarter. An awkward looking point after attempt failed.

After returning the kick-off 20 yards, the Eagles threw the ball deep on their second play from scrimmage. Warren County quarterback Victor Hunt under-threw his receiver, but a Gates County defender tipped the ball into the hands of Warren County receiver Damon Tuck who ran untouched into the endzone. The Eagles nailed their point after attempt, leaving the score 7 – 6 with 4:36 left in the first quarter.

The Red Barons turned the ball over on downs on their next possession and the Eagles looked poised to score again.

Following some elusive running and precise passing from Hunt, the Eagles had the ball at the Gates County five-yard line with 10:30 to go in the second quarter. Hunt threw a fade to the corner of the end-zone, only to see junior quarterback/defensive back Corey Tyree pick off the pass in the end zone and return it 102 yards for a touchdown. The Red Barons went for two, but failed again.

The Barons forced Warren County to punt on the following possession and a good punt return from Eason put the Barons in solid field position. Tyree connected with wide receiver Danny Hobbs for a huge 41-yard gain. Three plays later, Eason pounded the ball in for another Baron touchdown with 5:30 left in the first half. Eason also scored on the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 20 – 6.

Hunt went to work again for the Eagles, but his receivers failed him, dropping several wide-open passes. The Eagles went for it on fourth down from the Red Barons’ 21 yard line, only to have the ball batted harmlessly away by a Gates County defender.

Two plays later, Eason made Warren County pay as he scored on an electrifying 77 yard run with 2:25 left in the half. Eason took an inside hand-off, cut to the right and once he got outside, no one was going to catch him. The two-point conversion failed

The first half ended with the Barons leading 26 – 6.

The teams traded possession to begin the second half. Following a series of bad exchanges between Tyree and his center, Warren County recovered a Gates County fumble on the Red Baron 23 yard line. Three plays later Eagles running back Michael Robinson scored on a 20-yard scamper. The Eagles converted the two-point conversion and the momentum appeared to be shifting.

The fourth quarter started with some heated exchanges on the field between the two teams, resulting in several unsportsmanlike penalties and Eason leaving the game with cramps.

Another bad exchange gave Warren County the ball, but the Eagles failed to take advantage of the miscue when Hobbs intercepted a Hunt pass.

The Eagles put together one more solid drive, but Hunt’s receivers could not hold onto his passes and the drive stalled at the Gates County 10-yard line. Gates County got the ball back on downs and ran the clock out, holding onto a hard-fought victory.

&uot;I thought we hurt ourselves with penalties tonight and we should have scored more,&uot; said Gates County Head Coach Clark Harrell. &uot;We gutted it out and it’s great to be two and zero.&uot;

Eason led all rushers with 125 yards on 11 carries and Reid finished with 59 yards on 12 carries.