Missed opportunities and bad bounces were the story of the night for Abilene High on Friday at Shotwell Stadium, where the Eagles saw a promising season come to an end earlier than expected with an upset loss to El Paso Eastwood.

Despite two empty red zone trips and a pair of costly fumbles, AHS rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit to take its first lead of the game with 2:44 to play. But at the end of the night, it was the Troopers celebrating a 31-27 victory on the Eagles’ home field, thanks to a clutch 75-yard touchdown drive, a late interception near midfield and an intentional safety that drained the final 12 seconds of game time. 

Eastwood’s win avenged a 42-35 loss to the Eagles in the bi-district round last year in a game that helped propel coach Mike Fullen’s team to a run to the regional quarterfinals. AHS was hoping a win Friday would help kickstart a similar run, but a slow start and a fair number of uncharacteristic mistakes left the Eagles on the wrong side of a playoff thriller.