Eagles Fall In Finale

Chicago, IL - The Eagles wrapped up the 2024 season with a game at St. Xavier. Judson came out competitive and battled to a scoreless opening quarter. Still in the game down 10-0 in the final minute is when things took a turn. 

With 40 seconds left, the Cougars punched in their second touchdown of the game. In the ensuing drive, a quick sequence saw the Eagles punt with just a few seconds remaining.

Harmless right? But St. Xavier took that punt and returned it 70 yards for the score with no time left on the clock. In a flash, the halftime deficit was 24-0. 

The Eagles struggled to find a consistent ground game, but were able to move the ball a bit through the air. Jake Parker went 10-22 for 107 yards, and Jalen Webb-Starkey went 9-19 for 72 yards. 

A scoreless third quarter was keeping things at bay for JU until SXU put two more touchdowns on the board in the final quarter. 

Judson was able to get one into the endzone with a 1 yard touchdown run by Harrison Hannah, and the final score was 38-6 St. Xavier. 

After their week one victory, the Eagles end the season 1-9 overall. 

All season long, the one constant was the play of wideout Grant Alexander Jr. However, he was held to a modest 4 catches for 58 yards and no scores. For the season, Alexander posted 57 catches for 1194 yards, and 11 touchdowns. For the season, Alexander averaged 119.4 yards per game. He led the MFSA West in received yards per game and touchdowns. In terms of school records, Alexander set new bench marks in receiving yards, yards per game, and touchdowns. 

In addition, he set single game records for most receiving yards in a game, and the longest reception from scrimmage throughout the season. 

After a fine start to the season, quarterback Jake Parker still posted very good numbers on the year. He was 141-290 for 2222 yards and 17 touchdowns. The majority of those stat lines will qualify for second on program lists. 

On defense, Rehoboth Odunyemi led the team in tackles with 45. Kieran Berry had 2.5 sacks. Jaylin Ware, who received an invite to the Dream Bowl had 5.5 tackles for loss on the season. 

What proved to be a crucial loss to the Eagle defense, was losing senior leader and linebacker Jay Callentine five games in with a season ending wrist injury. Despite only playing half of the season, Callentine was still third on the team in TFL, and sixth in total tackles. 

All in all, the 2024 season was a continued effort to build a culture and program. In just year four of the program, the building blocks are still being laid. 

Behind Alexander and Parker, the Eagles will be back in 2025.