El Paso Eastlake head coach JJ Calderon was confident in his team entering Thursday night’s clash against El Paso El Dorado. His confidence turned out to be well-founded as the Falcons dominated on both sides of the ball to come away with a 34-12 win over the Aztecs.
Our kids took a business like approach to this game,” Calderon said, We were focused, we played with poise. El Dorado is a great team. We had lots of people step up and play well for us.
Eastlake got off to a quick start offensively, taking the opening drive 8 plays for 63 yards capped with a 25 yard strike to Emilio Rios for an early 6-0 lead. The following possession for El Dorado turned into a disaster as quarterback Cedarious Barfield had a snap go over his head and was recovered by Eastlake inside the 10 yard line.
The Falcons didn’t take long to strike, as Ivan Avina scored on a 7-yard pass from Justin White and a two-point conversion to make it 14-0. After another three-and-out, the Falcons struck quickly again with another touchdown run from Avina to take a 20-0 lead and fully take control of a game they would never relinquish.
The Eastlake offense was expected to be strong and it was on full display. Quarterback Justin White finished with over 300 yards passing yards on the night and versatile running back Ezekiel Jones finished with 151 total yards. That said, it was Avina who appeared to have the most success on this Thursday night, finishing with 210 yards receiveing.
“We stayed focused and played well as a team,” Avina said, “We stuck to our objectives.”
On the other side, the defense did its part to contain Barfield and the El Dorado offense. The San Diego State commit finished with 244 total yards of offense (204 passing, 40 rushing) and never found a rhythm all night long.
“Our defense played well throughout,” Calderon said. “Cedarious is a great player. We just tried to limit the big plays. We came up with a couple of big turnovers.”
The turning point came late in the first half with Eastlake already up 27-6. The Aztecs were driving inside the Falcons 25 when Barfield threw a pass that Corey McCoy appeared to secure. Instead, it was defensive back Andy Carmona who came away with the interception and ended one of the last serious threats on the night for El Dorado.
Eastlake will next face El Paso Chapin on September 8, while El Dorado will travel to Wolfforth and face off against the Frenship Tigers.
