Cloverdale visits Berean Christian on Saturday
The varsity football Eagles pushed their record to 2-0 on Saturday, outlasting a tough St. Vincent squad on a brutally hot afternoon in Petaluma.
The victory was the by-product of an outstanding second half performance by the Eagles, as they avenged a 21-6 loss to the Mustangs a year ago.
The win, the first over St. Vincent since 2009, gives Cloverdale added fuel heading into this week’s game – a Saturday, Sept. 13 visit to Berean Christian. Game times for the JV and varsity are 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
The Eagles will enjoy a bye the following week before opening up the NCL-1 campaign at Clear Lake on Sept. on Sept. 26.
Team victory
Cloverdale used a ball-hawking defensive effort along with a big dose of junior running back Luke Bernardi to overtake St. Vincent on Saturday, with the Eagles busting open a 7-7 halftime deadlock to win going away.
Bernardi, a 1000-plus yard rusher as a sophomore last year, logged his second straight 100-yard performance of 2014 in churning up 103 yards on 19 carries and a pair of touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Greg Scaramella turned in a solid game in directing the offense, connecting on seven of eight pass attempts for 103 yards and one score.
Although Cloverdale had no shortage of standouts, it was the effort of the entire team that impressed the Eagle’s brain-trust.
“We lost two key players to injuries in the second quarter and other players stepped up and filled those roles well,” Eagles coach Rick Berry said. “The offensive line is our key and we need to keep improving and learn to work together. Sometimes we were not on the same page as far as assignments and timing, but still better than last week,” he added.
The Eagles drew first blood in the opening quarter when a short field led to a 33-yard touchdown scamper by Luke Bernardi for a 7-0 lead at the end of one. St. Vincent scored the equalizer with under two minutes remaining in the second quarter, knotting the contest at 7-7 at the half.
The Eagles’ defense took charge after intermission, highlighted by a 45-yard interception return by Scaramella. Cloverdale added second half touchdowns by Luke Bernardi, and receiver John McMillan en route to a 28-7 win.
In addition to the heroics of Lunardi and Scaramella, other offensive standouts included McMillan (4-91 yards receiving, TD), Adrian Bernardi (1 for 6 yards receiving), and Mason Meier (8-42 yards rushing, 2-14 yards receiving). Kicker Ivan Jimenez was perfect on all four of his PAT attempts.
Leading defenders were John Janey (9 tackles), Meier (8 tackles), McMillan (2 sacks), Damyon Tamyo (4 tackles, INT), Damian McKinney (3 tackles, INT), Danny Bernal (2 tackles), Nick Scalabrini (2 tackles), Luke Bernardi (2 tackles), Adrian Bernardi (1 tackle),), Luis Guterrez (2 tackles), Sam Swan (2 tackles), Jose Calvillo (1 tackle), Travis Kitowski (1 tackle), Scaramella (INT, TD) and Ean Maya (3 tackles).
JV falls to Mustangs
The Eagle’s JV squad lost a heartbreaker to St. Vincent on Saturday, as the host Mustangs used a safety to break a 20-20 tie at the half to pull out a 22-20 win.
