Canton-Galva football coach Shelby Hoppes had no explanation.

His Eagles were trailing 36-0 with two minutes remaining in the first half and seemed destined for a runner-up finish in the Eight-Man Division I championship in Newton.

But then something happened; something so remarkable that it left Hoppes scratching his head even days later.

Canton-Galva proceeded to score 66 straight points to defeat St. Francis 66-36 to win the school’s first ever football championship.

“We knew we were better than what we showed in the first half,” Hoppes said. “The two scores right before halftime helped and then we told them to just get a stop and a score and keep cutting into the lead.”

There were two reasons why the Eagles struggled so mightily in the first half: poor tackling and missed opportunities.

In the second half, Canton-Galva’s defenders were instructed to tackle lower. The Eagles also capitalized on overthrows and missed chances for scores. “We had the matchups we wanted in the first half,” Hoppes said. “We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Senior Landon Everett said once the Eagles started scoring points at a faster clip in the second half, he could tell St. Francis was getting nervous.

“We saw they were beginning to get nervous,” Everett said. “And that picked us up.”

Hoppes said the amount of people that showed up in Newton was remarkable and there has been so much community support over the past few years.

“They are passionate about the kids and it was a cool experience for the kids,” Hoppes said. “I have been to the last three state title games as a fan and I have never seen the home side as full as it was when our fans filled it up. There were even fans lined up on the fence.”

Everett said he and his teammates were recognized all over town after the game.

“It seems like everywhere we go around town, we are being stopped and asked about the game,” Everett said. “It has been really cool.”