On a wild and very long Thursday night, the Eastlake Falcons held off a resilient Bel Air Highlanders squad with a 49-48 victory on homecoming at the SAC after the start was delayed because of the El Dorado-Montwood game running.
“Tonight was like the Pac-12 game of the week,” said Eastlake head coach J.J. Calderon. “Those things start at 8:30 or 9 at night and that’s what it felt like.”
The numerous penalties called on both sides didn’t help. Bel Air and Eastlake finished with double digit penalties for the game, which ultimately couldn’t slow down either offense. Both teams scored on their opening possession. First, Eastlake quarterback Keith Tarango-Lopez threw one of four first half touchdown passes to Emilio Rios, followed a 5-yard touchdown run by Bel Air running back Bijan Byrd. Ivan Avina hauled in another Tarango-Lopez touchdown to make it 13-7, and the points would continue to pile on.
Bel Air quarterback Isaac Ybarra engineered two touchdown drives in the second quarter, but Emilio Rios stole the show with two more touchdown receptions, including a tremendous catch behind a defender at the end of the half to give the Falcons a 28-21 lead heading into the locker room. Rios finished the game with four catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
The second half also saw plenty of points on the board thanks to the Highlanders’ special teams. The Highlanders scored on the opening kickoff of the second half, then followed it up with a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jamil Gentry. Gentry also scored on a touchdown pass from Ybarra and a touchdown run in the second half.
But the Falcons responded with a strong running game, thanks in part to senior running back Adrian Chavez. Chavez has been battling injuries all season, but looked healthy tonight, finishing with 19 carries, 174 yards and 2 touchdowns, with most of those coming in the second half.
“We were able to run the ball pretty good,” Calderon said, “Adrian feels a lot better and it’s nice to have him back full speed. When we have him, the defense has to account for an extra guy in the box and that opens it up in the passing game.”
Overall, the Falcons used a steady mix of the run and the pass to come out victorious. Players called it a total team effort to win this close game.
“A team can have as many great players in the city but it takes a real team to come together as a unit and pull out a win, especially in a close game just like this,” said Eastlake quarterback Keith Tarango-Lopez, who finished with 383 yards of total offense.
“Our guys didn’t stop,” Chavez said, “The defense didn’t give up and the offense didn’t give up and that’s what got us through.”
Eastlake moves to 3-2 overall and 3-0 in District 2-5A. They play at Hanks next Friday. Bel Air falls to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in District 2-5A. They have a bye and will play in two weeks when they host Hanks.
