The varsity football Eagles wrapped up a resurgent gridiron campaign on Friday, falling to host St. Helena 28-7.
Cloverdale held out hope that its season would continue with a potential spot in the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs, but the team was snubbed by the NCS seeding committee on Sunday.
The fall campaign was a wild roller-coaster ride for the Eagles, who dropped their first four games before winning four of their next five to put them in playoff contention. The Eagles finished up their best season in years with a third-place NCL-1 mark of 4-3 and 4-6 overall.
Eagles grounded by Saints    Â
Cloverdale drew a tough assignment when they took the field at St. Helena on Friday, as the Saints mounted a vaunted ground attack that would churn up 365 yards rushing, including 215 by star running back Sebastian Segura.
The Saints drew first blood in the opening quarter when Segura capped a sustained drive with a six-yard scoring run to take a 7-0 lead at the end of one.
Trailing 14-0 in the second quarter, Cloverdale fought back as quarterback Josh Holden directed a scoring march culminating in a five-yard touchdown burst from sophomore back Luke Bernardi to cut the halftime deficit to 14-7.
St. Helena took full control of the line of scrimmage after the break, gaining separation with a pair of touchdowns. The Saints found pay-dirt on a 13-yard run by Segura, followed by a 14-yard scoring pass from quarterback Jack Preston to receiver Devon Browne to put the Saints up by three scores.
The Saints kept the Eagles off the board while working the game clock in the final period en route to a 28-7 win.   Â
