Cloverdale falls to 1-1, visits St. Vincent this Saturday
The varsity football Eagles look back on week two of the 2017 season as the one that got away, with offensive miscues sabotaging an otherwise solid defensive effort on Friday in a 16-0 loss to visiting Stellar Prep.
Cloverdale was locked in a close battle until the fourth quarter, but four turnovers sealed its fate in suffering the first loss of the season.
“It was a frustrating night, our offensive execution just wasn’t there,” Eagles head coach Chad Talley reported. “Still, our defense did their job, and to only give up 16 points was a pretty good effort.”
The Eagles (1-1) will quickly turn the page to their next challenge, a Saturday, Sept. 9 visit to St. Vincent in Petaluma. Game times for the JV and varsity are 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.
The Mustangs (1-1) are coming off a 28-6 win over Portola on Friday and will take momentum into their game with Cloverdale.
“We asked the kids to push the reset button and get back to work,” Talley noted. “Last week we had a poor week of practice and it carried into Friday’s game.”
The Sept. 1 clash with Stellar Prep was one for defensive aficionados, with the visiting Thunder finding paydirt on a second quarter touchdown to take an 8-0 halftime lead. The score remained unchanged until the fourth when the Thunder capitalized on a key Cloverdale turnover with a late score to secure a 16-0 win.
Cloverdale quarterback James Wirt completed one of 13 pass attempts for 12 yards and three interceptions, while rushing seven times for 14 yards. Leading rushers included BJ Grady (3-36 yards), Shane Scalese (8-19 yards), Cesar Buenrostro (5-17 yards). Ben Paine was the leading receiver with one catch for 12 yards.
Grady led the defensive unit with 12 tackles from the safety position. Other leading tacklers were John Wesele (6), Eli Arreola (6), Luis Pesqueda (4), Scalese (4), Daniel Lopez (3), Wirt (3), Buenrostro (2), Will Foley (2), Ray Sayago (2), Mel Alonso (2) and a tackle apiece from Christian Chavez and Brandon Nicholson.
