Eagles move into three-way tie for first; host Fort Bragg Friday
Every winning team has one signature win it can look back on as a defining moment it its season.
The varsity football Eagles had their moment on Friday at perennial power Middletown, using an outstanding effort from their offensive line to run roughshod over the host Mustangs in a 25-7 victory.
The win lifted the Eagles into a three-way tie with Fort Bragg and St. Helena for NCL-1 supremacy at 4-1, with just two games remaining.
Cloverdale will quickly re-focus their attention the next task at hand, a Halloween clash with Fort Bragg this Friday, Oct. 31. The Wolverines are fresh off a 35-20 win over St. Helena last week and will pose a formidable threat to the Eagle’s title aspirations on Friday.
Eagles win trench battle
The Eagles went back to basics on Friday, waging a relentless battle on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to neutralize Middletown’s strength.
The Cloverdale defense spotted the Mustangs a 7-0 first-quarter lead after a five-yard run from Wyatt Hall, but it was all Eagles from that point on.
Quarterback Greg Scaramella got his team on the board in the second period when he found fullback Mason Meier on a six-yard scoring pass to knot the contest at 7-7. Scaramella and Meier hooked up again later in the second quarter on a 22-yard touchdown strike to give Cloverdale a 13-7 lead at the half.
The Eagle’s defensive unit, led by leading tackler Luis Guitterez, kept the momentum squarely on the Cloverdale sideline after intermission, allowing the offense to control the clock and scoreboard.
The Eagles gained separation in the third quarter when running back Luke Bernardi cashed in on a three-yard scoring run to push the lead to 19-7 at the end of three. Cloverdale administered the coup de grace in the final period, when Meier found pay-dirt for the third time on a one-yard plunge en route to a 25-7 win.
“Middletown gets off blocks as good as any high school team around, but we held our own on both sides of the ball,” CHS head coach Rick Berry said, citing the fine play of lineman John Janey, Sam Swan, Scott Richardson, Adrian Gonzalez, Travis Kitowski, Jacob Peterson, Adrian Bernardi, and fullback Mason Meier. “Our guys continued to create the push to give us a ground game.”
Scaramella finished up an effective night under center with nine completions on 19 pass attempts for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Other offensive leaders were Bernardi (31-103 yards rushing, TD), Meier (6-21 yards rushing, TD, 5-73 yards receiving, 2 TDs), John McMillan (2-33 yards receiving), and Adrian Bernardi (1-33 yards receiving).
Top defenders were Guitterez (9 tackles, FR), Adrian Bernardi (8 tackles), Luke Bernardi (6 tackles), Scaramella (5 tackles), Janey (4 tackles), Damon McKinney (4 tackles), Nick Scalabrini (3 tackles), Meier (2 tackles), Swan (1 tackle), Kitowski (1 tackle), McMillan (sack, 2 blocked passes), and Gonzalez (1 tackle).
