Victory propels Cloverdale into Friday clash with Kelseyville
The varsity football Eagles are alive and well in the North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs, opening the 13-team tournament on Nov. 2 with a 31-12 rout over the #9 seeded Arcata Tigers.
The resounding victory propelled #8 Cloverdale (7-4) into the NCS quarterfinals this Friday, Nov. 9 at #1 seeded Kelseyville (9-1). Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The Knights are a familiar foe, having handed the Eagles a hard-fought, 22-15 decision on Oct. 5.
“We’re very excited to get these guys again, our players wanted this rematch since the last time we played,” Eagles’ head coach Greg Alexander said. “They are a solid football team and we felt like we let one slip away last time we played.”
Eagles’ winning road
trip
The Nov. 2 NCS opener, played in the Redwood Bowl at Humboldt State College in Arcata, was arguably the most complete game for the Eagles this season. Cloverdale shook off the four-hour bus ride and unlike a lot of visiting teams, was focused and ready to go at kickoff.
“Arcata was a tough opponent but we handled the entire day well,” Alexander noted. “Obviously with travel that long we had concerns on how we would come out. We handled the day like professionals and came out of the gate a bit slow but kept at it. We were able to thoroughly dominate the line of scrimmage and threw it somewhat effectively when we needed to.”
Senior running back Jone Wesele got the party started against the Tigers, taking a screen pass from quarterback Shayne Turner 33 yards to the house for an early 7-0 lead. Arcata answered with a scoring drive resulting in a 9-yard touchdown pass as Cloverdale led 7-6 after one.
The Eagles, led by running backs Wesele and Cesar Buenrostro, cranked up their ground game in the second quarter, mounting a march culminating in a short scoring run by Wesele for a 14-6 edge. Turner engineered another drive late in the period, highlighted by a 37-yard pass to Buenrostro and resulting in a scoring run from Turner for a 21-6 cushion at the half.
The Tigers cut the deficit to 21-12 early in the third, but Cloverdale finished the period with a field goal to make it 24-12 after three. The Eagle defense took over in the final period, as Buenrostro sealed the game with a 46-yard touchdown scamper en route to a 31-12 win.
Turner turned in a solid night under center, completing four of seven passes for 65 yards and one touchdown, while adding 15 runs for 73 yards and a score on the ground.
Buenrostro (6-70 yards rushing, TD, 2-34 yards receiving) and Wesele (24-94 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 1-24 yards receiving) were nearly unstoppable, while other contributors were Anthonie Rebottaro (2-9 yards rushing) and Garrett Robertson.
