Eight days before playing host to Osan American in the Far East Class A football championship game, Robert D. Edgren took care of another piece of business — ending a nine-season, 16-game losing streak to Yokota.

Johnell Alexander and Ja’maal Dennis combined for 224 yards and three rushing touchdowns Friday as the Eagles edged the Panthers 20-18 for the first time since 1999. It also ended Yokota’s 43-game DODDS-Japan Football League winning streak dating back to 2002.

"I’m still in a state of shock. It’s pretty amazing," said coach Chris Waite, whose Eagles lost their last two home contests vs. Yokota by one point each. The teams finished 6-2 overall and 5-1 in JFL play, but Yokota earned its 10th straight league title via points tiebreaker.

It’s the first time Yokota finished a regular season with two losses since 2002, when it forfeited the first two games for using an ineligible player. Yokota hadn’t lost a JFL game on the field since a 24-18 defeat at Matthew C. Perry on Sept. 24, 2000. Edgren last beat the Panthers in the 1999 season opener 8-6 at Yokota.

Waite characterized the victory as "landmark" in school lore. "You could see it on the kids’ faces. This is huge for us," Waite said.

But he sounded a cautionary note as the cheering died down — Edgren still has Osan to take care of. The Cougars earned their third Class A title-game berth in four years by downing Daegu American 17-6 at Cougars Field, Osan Air Base.

Edgren’s victory "will be talked about until Monday. Then we have to get ready for Osan," Waite said. After a one-point home loss last month to American School In Japan, his players "said they wanted to win five games straight. We’ve won four. We don’t want to lose sight of it."

JapanRobert D. Edgren 20, Yokota 18: At Misawa Air Base, Alexander scored on first-half runs of 14 and 39 yards, but Yokota answered each time with Derick Seward, who scored on a 25-yard shovel pass and a 45-yard run.

Yokota led 18-14 at halftime on DeEric Harvin’s desperation 22-yard on-the-run pass that found Andy Silva wide open in the end zone.

After a turnover exchange early in the second half, Edgren strung together a drive of 80 yards on 12 plays in 5:58, capped by Dennis’ 16-yard TD run in which he broke four tackles.

Yokota had several chances, but Alexander’s end-zone interception squelched one Panthers drive, then Tony Presnell missed a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and the Eagles ran out the clock.

Unlike conservative, ground-pounding Panthers teams of the past, coach Tim Pujol said Yokota was "committed to a wide-open game plan, even if we did make mistakes … trying some things that will be important for us down the road in the (Class AA) playoffs."

"We stepped out of character," Pujol said of a team that tried several formations. The series he said he’d "like to have back" was when Yokota had a first-and-goal at the 5 and Alexander’s interception halted the drive. "That was the difference," Pujol said.

Nile C. Kinnick 45, Zama American 31: At Yokosuka Naval Base, the Red Devils (2-6) enjoyed a happy homecoming as Tyree Hunt ran 23 times for 296 yards and two touchdowns. Jon Bollinger had 192 total yards and accounted for four touchdowns, Taylor Meyers caught a touchdown pass and Cameron Butts ran for a score.

The Trojans (0-7) enjoyed their highest offensive output of the season. Michael Spencer gained 168 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and Emmanuel Sloan ran 14 times for 154 yards and two scores and returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown.

South KoreaOsan American 17, Daegu American 6: At Osan Air Base, Mike Gilliam ran 6 yards for a score, Derek Becker booted a 37-yard field goal and Jesse Crockett added a 1-yard touchdown run as the Cougars (3-3) took advantage of three straight turnovers by the Warriors (2-5) to open the second half.

That followed a first half in which the Cougars shot themselves in the foot with three turnovers, two inside Daegu’s 20-yard line. "That hurt us," Osan coach Duke Allen said. "But the kids came back, took better care of the ball and played fired-up defense."

Antoine Feagin’s 5-yard run in the second quarter put Daegu up 6-0 at halftime, but the three second-half miscues "kept giving [Osan] a short field. We don’t have the size to compete with them on a short field," Warriors coach Ken Walter said.

Earning the Class A title berth capped a 3-1 run on the heels of an 0-2 start to the season for the Cougars. "They could have dropped their heads, but they turned it around," Allen said. "We’re looking forward to the trip."

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