Eagles looking to ‘flip switch’ against St. Helena this Friday in league opener
The Eagles left nothing to chance on Saturday in the pre-league football finale at St. Vincent de Paul in Petaluma, running roughshod over the host Mustangs in a dominant 35-0 rout.
The Eagles turned in easily their best defensive work of the season to date, putting constant pressure on the Mustang quarterback, while yielding precious few yards from scrimmage.
Although the Eagles’ offense failed to capitalize on early field position provided by their defense, they finally got it rolling following a scoreless first quarter.
“The kids played well but took too long to get going,” head coach Chad Talley reported. “We have a saying about ‘flipping the switch,’ but we had some execution problems (early on) and took too long to do that.”
The convincing victory gives Cloverdale a full head of steam heading into the NCL-1 opener this Friday, Sept. 15 when it plays host to St. Helena. The Saints (1-1) are fresh off a 28-14 loss to Kelseyville last week and represent a formidable challenge for the Eagles on Friday.
“We definitely need to play better against St. Helena this week and won’t have the benefit of time to get going,” Talley noted. “We’ll need to be at 100 percent at the kickoff, so the message this week is flip the switch early.”
Eagles rout Mustangs
Cloverdale did everything but score against St. Vincent in a relentless first quarter on Saturday, with interceptions from defensive backs James Wirt and John Wesele setting up a short field.
The Eagles cranked up their offense in the second quarter, finding pay-dirt on a 51-yard quarterback keeper from Wirt, followed by a 17-yard scoring pass from Wirt to receiver Christian Chavez for a 14-0 lead at the half.
Cloverdale put the game on ice in an explosive third-quarter, as all-purpose back BJ Grady scored on a four-yard run to make it 21-0. The defense got into the scoring act moments later when Ray Sayago pounced on a St. Vincent fumble in the Mustang’s end zone for a 28-0 cushion. Defensive back Eli Arreola capped the defensive fireworks with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown as the Eagles powered to a 35-0 win.
Team notes
Kicker Danny Valencia was a perfect seven for seven on PAT kicks.
