Despite going through the unthinkable this week, burying his mother Laura Ann Eddy after she lost her battle to cancer last week, there was no doubt that Waubonsie Valley senior quarterback Jack Eddy would take the field Friday against Bartlett.
“His mom’s last wish was for him to play, how could I say no?,” Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said.
Eddy did his mother proud, guiding the Warriors to a 47-6 Upstate Eight Valley win over the Hawks to improve to 3-1 on the season.
On the fourth offensive play of the game, Eddy connected with Christian Gibbs for a 43-yard touchdown to start off the win. He rushed for 90 yards and passed for 76 more in the win.
“That was for my mom, I love you mom,” Eddy said. “We had a great play action to set it up and I just threw a nice ball and Gibbs went up and got it.
“I really wanted to play. My mom would have wanted me to play. We played great tonight and it feels great.”
All of Eddy’s varsity teammates attended his mother’s funeral Thursday morning, and several of them went over to him with encouraging words during a pregame ceremony in which a moment of silence was observed for her.
“We’re a family and we’ve been stressing that,” Eddy said. “I’ve got a second family right here. They’re backing me up. My family is over there by the fence. It’s been good. I really appreciate it.”
The Warriors punted twice after the initial touchdown drive, but Eddy’s cousin, Brock Westwood, picked up an interception that led to their second score, a 52-yard touchdown run from Tony Durns with 1:27 left in the first quarter.
That set off a string of six consecutive scoring drives that activated a running clock in the second half. Eddy had a one-yard plunge, Jon Fizer had a pair of touchdown runs and Devin Strickland had both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the second half, with the pass coming from backup quarterback Zach Bennema.
“Having an emotional week like we did, you hope the boys will respond,” Murphy said. “You never know until you get out there. I couldn’t be prouder of a group of young men.”
Bartlett (1-4) only had two first downs and 37 yards of offense in the first half, compared to 300 yards for Waubonsie. Quarterback Jordan Flint broke free for a 24-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for the Hawks’ lone score.
