In what is expected to be one of the top games in the El Paso area for Week 1, Eastlake (5A) and and El Dorado (6A) will meet up in the nightcap Thursday night of a doubleheader at the SAC following Irvin and Pebble Hills. These two teams are among the top contenders to win their districts (2-5A and 1-6A respectively) this season and the game goes the way the last two meetings have gone (70-49 and 45-35, both to El Dorado), expect a shootout on Thursday night.
That said, it’s something that both coaches want to avoid.
“It’s taken a lot of patience to be a coach and as a spectator to be part of that game,” said Eastlake head coach JJ Calderon, “I think we’ve gone three-hours plus the last couple of times.”
Eastlake
The Eastlake Falcons, led by head coach JJ Calderon, enter the season with a new quarterback but one with experience to his credit. Senior Justin White takes over for Keith Tarango-Lopez and has shown a strong arm over spring and 7-on-7 competition during the summer.
Eastlake RB Ezekiel Jones (Photo via Tony Venegas, TexasHSFootball.com)
There will also be no lack of fast weapons to get the ball in space from that include receiver Ivan Avina (931 rec. yards, 8 TDs) and Ezekiel Jones (528 yards, 3 TD rushing). 6-3 receiver Milo Rios also gives the Falcons a big target in the red zone and Calderon is ready to utilize his skill position players in ways that best suit them.
“We just have to get in a rhythm early,” Calderon said of his offense, “If we stay focused and cut down on the mistakes, we should be okay.”
Defensively, linebacker Josh Molinar will lead the way for a defense that is tasked with one of the most difficult tasks in the city: stopping San Diego State commit Cedarious Barfield at quarterback. After earning a second-team all-state selection, Calderon knows that the task won’t be easy.
“They have one of the best athletes in town playing quarterback,” Calderon said of Barfield, “We know they’re going to utilize him as much as we can and we have to account for him all the time.”
El Dorado
Head coach Ruben Torres enters his second year as the head man in charge of the Aztecs and like his opponents on Thursday, the team will have a lot of speed at their disposal on offense.
Second team all-state quarterback Cedarious Barfield, who racked up more than 4,600 yards and 55 total touchdowns last season, will take command and should be one of the more dynamic players to watch.
El Dorado QB Cedarious Barfield (Photo via Tony Venegas, TexasHSFootball.com)
Barfield will be without receivers Jorge Hernandez and Tyquez Hampton but even with them gone, he likes what the receivers coming back bring to the table that include Cameron Hill and Corey McCoy.
“With Cameron Hill, I think we’ll be able to use him in a lot of the ways we used Jorge and Tyquez last year,” Torres said, “Having Corey McCoy back also solidifies another position as a Z-receiver for us.”
The big questions for the Aztecs lie on the defensive side of the football but with eight returning starters and new defensive coordinator Phil Barrios, Torres wants to see the unit show improvement and knows he’ll have to face a challenge with Eastlake’s own speed.
“This group is that they’re one of the closest groups I’ve ever coached,” Torres said, “They expect to go out there and play hard and we’ll get our first shot tomorrow and we’ll see how they handle playing a good team.”
The Aztecs are scheduled to face the Falcons at 7:30 pm Mountain Time on Thursday.
Brought to you by:
