HALE - Sep. 25, 2009 - Hale went into Friday's non-conference battle with Alcona convinced it had the right stuff to pull off a victory against a team the Eagles haven't beaten in their last eight tries.

Make that nine, after the Tigers' Kevin Fettes ran for 117 yards and three touchdowns to lead his team to the victory despite a solid Hale defensive effort.

"(Alcona coach) Terry Franklin said that our kids did the best job of any team of tackling (Fettes)," said Hale coach Bill Lake. "It wasn't enough."

It might have been enough were it not for a number of untimely penalties and turnovers on the Eagles' part.

The Eagles trailed 19-6 after an Alcona score with 58 seconds left in the first half, but drove the length of the field in the final minute. The Tigers effectively ended the Eagles' shot at getting back in the game with an end zone interception with four seconds left in the half.

The Tigers put together a drive on their first possession of the second half, ending in Fettes' third touchdown of the night and ending the scoring.

"This was a very disappointing loss," Lake said. "We really felt that this was the year we were going to get a win against Alcona."

Tanner Shellenbarger was 6-of-15 for 77 yards for the Eagles, with Christian Mudry catching four passes for 51 yards. Mudry added 42 yards rushing on two carries, with Eddy Cadwell carrying nine times for 65 yards.

Evan Caverly scored in the first quarter on a 3-yard run for the Eagles, temporarily cutting the Alcona lead to 8-6.

John Hamilton was in on 18 tackles, Cadwell added 16 with Mudry and Ben Stoll adding 11 apiece.

Hale (2-3) returns to North Star League action at AuGres-Sims (2-3)  on Oct. 2, while Alcona (3-2) hosts Hillman (3-2).