Cloverdale on bye week; next game is Clear Lake on Oct. 28
There’s nothing like mud in your face and a hard-fought road victory to turn a football season around after a tough stretch of games.
That was the story on a mud-soaked gridiron in Willits on Friday, as the visiting Eagles leaned on solid fundamentals and a bruising ground attack in powering to a 21-18 win over the Wolverines.
The gritty win was a welcome result after four straight blowout losses to league opponents, pushing Cloverdale’s league record to 2-4 and 2-6 overall.
“It was nice to get a win,” a victorious Eagles coach Chad Talley said. “The effort was there from our guys and mentally I thought we were more focused than any game we’ve played in this year.”
The Eagles will enjoy a bye on the schedule this week before resuming NCL-1 action at Clear Lake on Oct. 28. Cloverdale will close out the season at home against Lower Lake on Nov. 4.
Eagles emerge in
mud bowl
Friday’s soggy meeting at Willits evoked memories of games gone by, with both teams digging in for what would be a grind-it-out trench battle.
Cloverdale set the tone on its opening drive, going to a strong ground attack to mount a drive resulting in a 10-yard touchdown run from senior running back Tristen Rege for a 7-0 lead.
The Eagles answered a Willits score late in the first period with another solid march culminating in a 5-yard touchdown burst from Rege, followed by a successful 2-point conversion, as Cloverdale took a 15-6 lead at the end of one.
With the field continuing to deteriorate, both teams found the sledding tough in a defensive second quarter, as the Eagles went to the halftime locker room clinging to a 15-12 advantage.
Cloverdale’s hurry-up offense had the Wolverines on their heels in the third quarter, as Rege finished off a critical drive with his third score of the game with another short touchdown scamper to open up a 21-12 edge after three.
Willits would make things interesting with a fourth-quarter score to pull within one touchdown, but the Eagles’ defense dug in to preserve a 21-18 victory.
“The final score would suggest that the game was closer than it really was,” Talley noted later. “We felt we were in control most of the way.”
Rege finished a great night with over 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while top defenders included BJ Grady, Drew Edens and Shane Scalese.
Injury notes
Senior tight end Kevin Scalabrini suffered a broken collarbone and will be lost for the remainder of the season.
