A back-and-forth contest to kick off 2020 was marred by miscues and turnovers for Pella Christian as the Eagles fell to Des Moines Christian 29-24 in a season opener heard live on the KRLS2 stream Friday night.

Pella Christian had several big plays, including an Isaac Kacmarynski pick-six, a trick play to set up a short touchdown, and a jump ball pass to pull close in the 4th quarter, but several squandered opportunities gave the hometeam Lions enough chances to finish with the victory.

Head Coach Rich Kacmarynski says poor special teams play and too many turnovers were too much to overcome for an inexperienced group of offensive playmakers.

Pella Christian lost possessions after Des Moines Christian recovered two onside kicks, dropped two potential touchdowns in the endzone, threw two interceptions that resulted in Lions’ touchdowns — including a backbreaking pick-six in the second half, and finished with four turnovers on downs.

The Eagles were led by a three-sack night by Luke Mulder — including two on fourth down stops, a rushing score by Cody Boender, and the first career passing touchdown for Isaac Kacmarynski.

A daunting task awaits Pella Christian as No. 2 PCM comes to town to continue their long-time rivalry next Friday.