Goshen ran out of gas late in a high-scoring affair with Geneva Friday night at the Eagles Nest, losing 35-28.

Neither team scored on its opening possession of the ball game, but when Goshen’s Terraino Griffin plunged in on a 9-yard carry late in the first quarter, the flood gates opened.

The Eagles and Panthers would combine for scoring drives on five consecutive possessions to end the half all knotted at 21.

Geneva forced a punt on Goshen’s first drive of the second half, and then drove 84 yards in 10 plays to take a 28-21 lead.

Geneva added a score early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

The Eagles rebounded with a score late fourth on a 3-yard dive from Deangelo Orum, but it was too little, to late.

Goshen head coach said the Eagles just ran out of steam late in the ball game, after dealing with the loss of Goshen teacher and coach Dee Hughes over the last 48 hours.

“To go through what these guys, and this whole family at Goshen has gone through this week takes a lot of you,” said Snyder. “We are all just emotionally drained, and these kids played a heck of ball game tonight. We just had one or two instances where we missed an assignment. We will keep on trying to get better, and will keep doing our best to help this community smile.”

Geneva did most of its damage on the ground. Running back Dustin Hutchinson racked up 207 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.

The Panthers out gained the Eagles 362 yards to 330.

Griffin led the Eagles on the ground with 74 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Orum was 7-of-14 in through the air for 59 yards.

Goshen’s leading receiver was Maquell Gibbs, who reeled in one pass for 31 yards.

On defense, the Eagles were led by Anthony Rogers. Rogers finished the night with seven tackles and two tackles for loss.

Snyder said the loss was’t the biggest moment of the night, but how his team played towards the end.

“This community lost a great person just a few days ago,” said Snyder. “She had given so much to this community for over 15 years. Every time we take the field, we know she will be with us. We never gave up tonight, and that is just the way she would have wanted it to be.”

Goshen will step back in to region play next Friday night against Elba.

“We have no time to rest,” Snyder said. “Elba will come in here next week, and will be looking for a win. Coach Rigby will have his guys ready to play, and we need to be as well.”

Kickoff for the region clash between the Tigers and Eagles is set for 7 p.m. at the Eagles Nest.