Cloverdale pushes record to 6-1; will visit Lower Lake Friday
The Eagles enjoyed a triumphant Homecoming on Friday against a solid Willits team, cranking up their potent ground attack in powering past the Wolverines in a 47-30 win.
The impressive victory pushed Cloverdale’s season record to 6-1, helping the Eagles maintain sole possession of third place in the NCL-1 with a mark of 3-1. St. Helena and Fort Bragg are currently tied atop the league standings at 4-0.
“We’re playing tough, physical football, but we’re also playing smarter football,” CHS head coach Chad Prieskorn said, citing outstanding efforts from linemen Travis Kitowski and Jacob Peterson. “These kids are a tough team to beat right now and as long as we stay focused we should have a good chance to win on the road Friday.”
Next up for the Eagles is a Friday, Oct. 23 visit to Lower Lake, another team that has made good strides this year. The Trojans (4-3, 1-3) are fresh off a 32-23 win over Clear Lake last week and represent a good test for Cloverdale on Friday.
“The Trojans run a spread-option offense, the type of offense that has big play potential every snap,” Prieskorn noted. “They have a lot of athletes and good overall speed, and they can create a large deficit or erase one in a blink of an eye. We’ve struggled against the pass this year and need to remedy that this week to beat the Trojans. It should be another tough league game, but we’ve been improving every week,” he added.
Ground game keys win
Friday’s win over Willits was among the most convincing of the year for Cloverdale, leaning heavily on an effective ground game to chew up huge chunks of real estate.
The Eagles, behind a fired-up offensive line and the elusiveness of star running back Luke Bernardi, jumped on Willits for a 13-6 lead by the end of one, before opening up a commanding, 34-12 advantage at the half.
The Eagles effectively iced the contest with another pair of third-quarter touchdowns for a 35-point cushion and then held off a late Wolverines rally in the final period en route to a 47-30 win.
Luke Bernardi logged his best outing of the campaign with 250 yards rushing on 22 carries and four touchdowns, while running mate Mason Meier gained 100 yards on 12 rushing attempts and one score.
Other offensive standouts were Adrian Bernardi (4-10 yards rushing, 2-49 yards receiving, TD) and Marcus Poe (1-59 yards receiving, TD). Quarterback Chris Harms completed four of six passes and a pair of scores. Kicker Pat Ojeda made good on five of six PAT attempts.
Leading defenders included Peterson (10 tackles, 1.5 sacks), Adrian Bernardi (9 tackles), Meier (8 tackles), Poe (7 tackles, sack), Ojeda (6 tackles, 2 team sacks), Kitowski (5 tackles), Luke Bernardi (5 tackles) and Harms (2 tackles, INT).
