LINDALE – When Corsicana came calling on the Lindale Eagles on Friday, both teams knew the one left standing after the final whistle would have a leg up on a playoff spot in District 16-4A.

Thanks to four rushing touchdowns and 232 yards from Lindale running back Aaron Jackson and a defense that bent but didn’t break, the Eagles are in the driver’s seat for the third or fourth district playoff position as they defeated the Corsicana Tigers, 42-26, at Eagle Stadium.

Lindale is now 2-6 on the season but 1-2 in district play. Corsicana dropped to 0-3 in district and 2-6 on the year.

A win over Jacksonville next week would set the Eagles up for a third place showdown with Nacogdoches the following week, providing the Dragons win next week as well.

On Friday, the Eagles constructed a 21-7 halftime lead on a seven yard run from Jackson and two touchdown tosses from quarterback David Slice to wideout TJ Griffin.

Both scoring passes – the first covering 26 yards and the second going for 63 yards – were essentially the same play. Slice rolled to his left, pumped and Griffin took off on a go route down the sidelines and hauled in both passes in stride.

The Eagles needed all the offense they could muster because Corsicana’s thunder and lightning combination of running back Donovan Fields and quarterback Devontay Bell scorched the Lindale defense for almost 500 yards on the ground.

Fields carried the ball 25 times for 243 yards while Bell had 22 carries for 149 yards and two touchdowns.

Yet Lindale’s defenders, specifically Michael Stiles, Collin Hester and AJ Flores came up with big stops in the second half to slow the Tiger running game.

The game may have turned on two big plays – one on an onside kick attempt from Corsicana and a killer fumble from Fields in the third period.

After the Tigers had trimmed the Lindale lead to 21-14 with 7:33 left in the third period, they tried an onside kick. But Nathan Evans scooped up the ball and sprinted past the Corsicana kick team.

He wound up at the Tiger 10 and Jackson took it in from there.

Later in the third period, it appeared momentum had shifted to Corsicana’s side after it had cut the Eagle advantage to 28-20 and was driving. On third and six from the Lindale 47, Fields broke into the open and was headed into the end zone.

But at the two, Lindale’s Stephen Clemmons knocked the ball loose and Griffin fell on it in the end zone, killing the threat.

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