Cloverdale wraps winning season with 7-4 record
The varsity football Eagles wrapped up a resurgent 2015 campaign on Friday in the North Coast Section Division-5 playoffs, falling to visiting Stellar Prep 35-0.
The NCS loss was a tough pill to swallow for Cloverdale, which began the season with hopes of a protracted playoff run in winning seven of its first eight games. But the injury bug reared its ugly head down the stretch, as the Eagles ended the year with three straight losses to finish with a record of 7-4.
“It was a disappointing way to end the season, but with 18 guys playing iron-man football it gets pretty tough at this time of year,” Eagles head coach Chad Prieskorn said. “Everyone is beat up or injured.”
For the second straight week, the Eagles were without the services of senior 1,700-yard running back Luke Bernardi, who suffered a neck injury against Middletown three weeks ago. The loss proved to be a crushing blow to the Cloverdale offense, which was shutout in the final three games.
“Not having two of our top players really hurt, you need to be at full strength for the postseason if you want to compete,” Prieskorn noted, also citing the absence of senior All-League lineman Travis Kitowski.
One bright spot was the outstanding play of a solid core of JV call-ups, giving fans a glimpse of great things to come for the program.
“We started three sophomores and one freshman, who all played great and showed that Cloverdale football has a bright future,” Prieskorn said. “Overall, for a first-year head coach I couldn’t have asked for a better team; the players and coaching staff were great. It gives me a lot of hope and excitement going forward.”
Eagles throttled
The suspense was over early in Friday’s NCS meeting between eighth-seeded Cloverdale and number nine Stellar Prep, as the visiting Thunder took charge in the first quarter in racing to a 28-0 halftime lead.
The Eagles’ defense stiffened after intermission in yielding just a late touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder were never threatened in an eventual 35-0 Stellar Prep win.
Senior running back Mason Meier provided most of the offensive highlights for Cloverdale, gaining 110 yards on 28 carries in an outstanding effort.
