Cloverdale enters bye week with 2-0 record
The varsity football Eagles are on a roll following their dominant, 54-12 romp at the expense of visiting St. Vincent on Friday.
Cloverdale scored early and often against an overmatched Mustangs squad, using a bruising ground game to power to a 30-0 cushion in the first quarter. St. Vincent, who knocked the Eagles out of the NCS playoffs last year, are struggling with low numbers this season, and it clearly showed on Friday.
The Eagles (2-0) will enjoy a bye this week before resuming pre-league action at Recreation Park in Healdsburg on Friday, Sept. 18. Kickoff times for the JV and varsity are 5 and 7:30 p.m.
Eagles in a rout
It was all Cloverdale from the opening whistle in the Sept. 4 meeting with St. Vincent, as senior running back Luke Bernardi got the party started with scoring runs of five and six yards for an early two-touchdown advantage. Moments later, linebacker Pat Ojeda picked off a pass and made a 30-yard house call.
The Eagles finished off an explosive period when running back Mason Meier broke loose on a 30-yard scoring burst for a 30-0 bulge at the end of one.
The Mustangs didn’t pack it in, connecting on a long completion early in the second quarter that led to a five-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles answered right back with a 40-yard scoring strike from quarterback Chris Harms to receiver Marcus Poe to give Cloverdale a 38-6 advantage at the break.
Cloverdale used the big lead to get their entire roster involved in the second half, going to an effective ground game with backs Tristin Rege and Adrian Bernardi to work on the clock.
Rege opened the third quarter scoring with a 60-yard touchdown jaunt for a 46-8 lead, but the Mustangs answered with another long completion to set up their second scoring pass of the game to make it 46-12. Adrian Bernardi capped the offensive fireworks with a long scoring run en route to a 54-12 win.
Although no official stats were available, backs Luke Bernardi (2 TDs), Meier (TD), and Adrian Bernardi (TD) each finished near the 100-yard mark for the night, while Rege (TD) wasn’t far behind.
“As a coach, it’s a great problem to have when four guys can carry the ball for you,” CHS head coach Chad Prieskorn said. “Defensively we played very well, gang tackling the ball carrier and applying relentless pressure on the quarterback.”
