In the first leg of a Midland doubleheader, the El Paso Eastlake Falcons take on the Lubbock Monterey Plainsmen at Grande Communications Stadium in a 5A Division 1 area round matchup. Both teams enter this game with high-powered offenses and are looking to build off of close wins in the bi-district round.
Eastlake went on the road last week and took down a very athletic Andress Eagles squad in a 35-32 win. Quarterback Keith Tarango-Lopez has been the catalyst at quarterback for the Falcons all season long and will lead a team that has shown a high level of resiliency. Running back Adrian Chavez is fully healthy and will be another important piece after rushing for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win over Andress. At receiver, leader Ivan Avina went down with an injury and is out for the rest of the season. Look for Chavez, Emilio Rios, and Nathan Macias to be the go-to targets for Tarango-Lopez.
Defensively, the Falcons will have to play their best game all season to contain Monterey’s offense, especially quarterback Jaron Jones. While the Falcons have been prone to giving up points, they’ve been able to come up with some key stops and force turnovers. An X-factor that could also weigh heavily is special teams. Ezekiel Jones has taken kickoffs back for touchdowns two of the last three games. If he gets an opportunity to take one back, that could be the spark the Falcons need to get the win.
The Monterey Plainsmen have won their last four games and are looking to keep that momentum going. To do that, they will have senior starter Jaron Jones taking the reins. The dual-threat quarterback had a big game last week against Amarillo High and will have opportunities to make plays. Zae Johnson will look to add some more depth on the ground and Kailan Noseff Waits will look to put up another impressive performance after hauling in 13 catches last week.
On defense, the Plainsmen held Amarillo’s Wing-T offense to just 74 yards in the first half. They also came up with an interception and a sack in the fourth quarter to secure the victory last week. This is a defense that has not given up more than 30 points in a game all season and will be ready to take on the multiple playmakers the Falcons offense has. With a win, Eastlake would advance to regionals for a third straight year, something that very few teams in El Paso have accomplished. Monterey is trying to go back to the third round for the first time since 2012. With two talented offenses on display, expect a back-and-forth showdown in Midland on Friday afternoon.
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