In a battle between Texas football titans, the Allen Eagles emerged victorious against the Cedar Hill Longhorns by a score of 23-8 to start the season with a win.

The Allen defense owned the night, as the Eagle defensive line consistently dominated the line of scrimmage while the secondary locked down the highly-touted Longhorn passing attack. The Allen ‘D’ only gave up 167 passing yards and 98 rushing yards while allowing just one touchdown.

The Eagles also forced three turnovers on the night, highlighted by interceptions in the endzone by senior safety Taj Bickham and junior cornerback Mo Perkins. Bickham was the recipient of the Tom Landry Classic Defensive Player of the Game award.

“[Our defense] came prepared,” Bickham said. “We’ve been in the lab studying. When everyone on the defense is linking up together and making big plays, it’s great.”

Junior quarterback Grant Tisdale made the first start of his Eagle football career, and he proved very capable of leading the offense and utilizing Allen’s offensive weapons. Tisdale passed for 107 yards and one touchdown on 11 pass attempts while also racking up 45 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Tisdale showed his ability to evade pressure in the pocket as well as his ability to deliver accurate passes downfield, highlighted by a 32-yard strike to senior wide receiver Carson Schleker on the sideline in the first quarter.

“It feels good [to have won],” Tisdale said. “We came out strong in the first half, put up 23 points. We didn’t put up any points in the second half, which was disappointing, so we need to get that fixed.”

The star of the offense on the night was senior running back Brock Sturges, as he carried the load on the ground while rushing for 116 yards and one touchdown. Sturges refused to go down on first contact and consistently was able to reach the second level of the defense with the help of a strong performance from the offensive line. Sturges was the recipient of the Tom Landry Classic Offensive Player of the Game award.

“My offensive line [allowed me to be successful],” Sturges said. “Trey [Stratford], [Mason] Grosser and everybody across the front. Without them, I couldn’t accomplish anything that I’ve accomplished.”

Next week the Eagles will take on defending Louisiana state champion Evangel Christian Academy at Eagle Stadium. Stay up with all the action here on The Eagle Angle.