The varsity football Eagles wrapped up the 2019 campaign on Friday in the season finale against visiting Middletown, falling to the first-place Mustangs, 41-0.
The setback signaled the end of a three-month journey for Cloverdale, giving the Eagles a final league record of 1-6 and 2-8 on the season. The win completed an unbeaten league season for Middletown (6-0, 7-2).
After starting the year at 2-2, key injuries at several positions took their toll on the Eagles, who finished the year with six straight losses.
“I want to thank the seniors for their time and effort,” CHS head coach Greg Alexander said looking back on the season. “I enjoyed coaching this team, but overall, I felt we never gelled (as a team) and this showed in the way we practiced and played.”
Mustangs throttle Eagles
The Eagles were coming off a two-week layoff due to the Kincade Fire when they took the field against visiting Middletown on Nov. 8.
The Mustangs showed no signs of rust, establishing full control of the line of scrimmage in racing to a 21-0 lead after one and 35-0 at the half.
The Middletown defense was equally strong, limiting the Eagles to just 82 yards of total offense.
When the dust cleared, the Mustangs walked off with a 41-0 rout.
“They dominated us from start to finish,” Alexander noted. “This was a typical game for us where we made a lot of mental mistakes that cost us in the secondary early, and our tackling was not great. We couldn’t run the ball and our pass game was mediocre, which seemed to be the story of our season.”