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The Eagles, now 2-0 in the GTC East and 3-0 overall, after trailing three different times, took control in the second half to stop the rival Redskins, 32-19, in division play. The smaller, younger Redskins fell to 0-2 in the East and 0-3 for the season.

The Redskins went to three and four receiver sets from the onset Friday and let the arm of sophomore quarterback Jordan Katt do the work. Katt threw two touchdown passes, 11 and 10 yards to Derek Neumayer, in the first half and flipped a third (13 yards) to sophomore Aaron Lanctot that put the ÔSkins ahead 19-12 early in the second half.

The Eagles took over from there, scoring the last three TDs of the night and putting relentless pressure on Katt the rest of the way.

Coach Bill Brown of the Eagles said his team had to turn up the heat on Katt and used a blitz in the second half that produced several sacks. Linebackers Eddy Zapinski, Tony Santana and Brett Ross were all active on the blitzes.

"We couldn't get to him early. The bottom line is that he's a good quarterback," said Brown. "So, we had to get after him.

"It was hard t prepare for (Sandusky) because we didn't know which way (run, pass, or both) they'd go."

Brad Bays, Redskins coach, said there was no way his smaller front line could key a successful running attack against the Eagles. "We looked at the match-up up front and knew we would struggle. They're probably have the best defensive front we'll see this year.

"Katt (21 of 39, 302 yards) played really well," Bays continued. "They sat back on the corners early and he was able to complete the short passes. Then, when they came up, he could go longer."

The ability of the Eagles' Marcus Kemp and Trevor Phipps to get to the outside sparked the offense for Deckerville in the second half. Moments after Sandusky's quick score in the third quarter, Kemp raced 38 yards to the ÔSkins' 22. Phipps then ended the drive with a one yard TD run to cut the lead to 19-18.

Two minutes later, after forcing Sandusky to punt, the Eagles put together two first downs before Kemp scampered 34 yards to the end zone. Santana's two-point conversion run made it 26-19.

Then, early in the fourth quarter, Phipps broke loose on a 41 yard TD run to put Sandusky away for good.

Bays said he knew his team would have trouble containing the outside against the Eagle backs. "We tried to scheme up things against them, but we still couldn't slow them down."

The Eagles finished with 370 yards of offense, 323 coming in the ground. Kemp (6-0, 175), a junior, finished with a career-high 175 yards on 23 carries while Phipps (6-0, 190), a senior, added 91 yards on 15 carries.. Santana also scored for Deckerville on a 36 yard run in the first quarter and Kemp followed late in the first half on a 25 yard scoring burst.

"Kemp ran hard, our fullbacks ran hard, and Phipps had a nice game. Phipps is one of the best athletes in the conference," said Brown.

Neumayer, a senior, led Sandusky's bevy of receivers with seven catches for 124 yards. Sophomore Cody Leander added six receptions for 79 yards and sophomore Andrew Fetting nabbed four for 59. Sandusky had just 15 yards rushing for the night.

Deckerville is away from East play this week but will face its sternest challenge of the season this Friday at unbeaten and state-ranked Reese. The Rockets are not quite the team that handed a very good Eagles team a 42-6 loss last season, but there is still plenty of talent on hand.

"They've got kids back and they have a fairly large squad of 30-35, and they have some great athletes," remarked Brown. "(Offensively) they do a little of everything. They run a little option and they run from the ÔI' formation.

"It's a crossover game, but it's a big game for both of us," added Brown. "The one who wins will get a lot of playoff points."

Sandusky, meanwhile, will seek its first win of the season with a division contest at high-scoring Marlette. The Raiders scored a 60-33 win over Cass City last wee,. The Hawks are a team that handed the Redskins an 18-14 loss in the opening week.

"We've been in all close games but didn't close," said Bays. "The kids play hard, though. They've done that every week."