Thanks to some hard-hitting football, the Goshen Eagles beat region rival Luverne 29-13 on Friday.

“It was smash-mouth, hard-nosed, hard-hitting football,” said Eagles head coach Bart Snyder. “It was great football.

The Eagles’ first score came on a 12 yard run by Damion Passmore after a drive that saw three fourth-down conversions. Quarterback Brock Snyder ran the ball into the end zone to give the Eagles an early 8-0 lead.

Luverne got on the board in the second with a four-play drive that ended in a 35-yard run.

Snyder put the Eagles back up front when he connected on a 62-yard touchdown pass to Zach Alford in the second quarter to give Goshen a 15-7 lead.

The Eagles’ defense held Luverne 160 yards of total offense and helped contribute to the lead when JaQuentin Daniels scooped up a fumble and ran it back for a 43-yard touchdown.

The Eagles final score came in the fourth quarter when they went on a 10-play 75-yard drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown run by Alford.

The Tigers scored the final touchdown of the night late in the fourth quarter when they ran one in from 17-yards away.

The Eagles improved to 3-0 and 2-0 in region play.

“We have matured,” Snyder said. “We still have a long way to go, but we know the work ethic is there and we see them improve each week. We have a heck of game next week with Elba.”

Snyder finished the game completing seven of his 14 passes for 81 yards and one touchdown. Alford led the way in rushing with 43 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. Passmore finished 32 yards on 11 carries.

The Eagles will play Elba on the road next Friday.

“That is a heck of a ball team,” Snyder said. “They are very good. We have to get ready starting Sunday.