The Pike County Bulldogs and Goshen Eagles junior varsity football teams met for the second time of the season Tuesday. It was a tight game throughout but in the end the Bulldogs held on to win 18-8.

“We started flat again. We have been doing that lately,” said Eagles head coach Chad Mansmann. “We have to figure out something to get us started at the beginning of the game. If we can do that, I figure we would be able to carry most of the momentum.

“We are going to have to work just a little bit harder. We compete at practice, it’s just when we come out here we don’t compete nearly as hard,” Mansmann said. “I don’t why that is. We just have to learn to do and transfer what we do in practice over to the game.”

Trailing 6-0, the Eagles responded in the second quarter when Bailey Wright connected with Rico Harris on a perimeter pass, setting up Harris’ 35-yard touchdown run. Harris converted the two-point conversation to give the Eagles an 8-6 lead over the Bulldogs.

It didn’t long for the Bulldogs to respond. On their next possession the Bulldogs went 70 yards in just under three minutes. Rashad Reynolds capped the drive when he rushed the ball in from the 3-yard line to give the Bulldogs back the lead.

The Bulldogs regained possession after holding the Eagles to a three-and-out and had an opportunity to close out the second half with a touchdown. After driving the ball into the Eagle territory the Bulldogs ran out of time leaving the score at 12-6.

The Bulldogs came out in the second half and scored on their opening possession. After starting the drive on the 32-yard line, the Bulldogs went on a five-play 78-yard drive ending with a touchdown. The Bulldogs again missed the two-point conversation attempt leaving the score at 18-8.

After a bye week Pike County will play Abbeville on Oct. 6 at 6 p.m.

“We have two weeks of solid practice and we want to be able to tighten up everything,” Mansmann said. “We want to be able to end on a good note.”

After the loss the Eagles will regroup and get ready for their next game on Tuesday night when they host Elba at 6 p.m.