Eagles win second straight, 44-0 on Sophomore Day

A stellar second half lifted the Eagles to their first win of the season Nov. 4th at Yuba, and they kept that theme going during a 44-0 Sophomore Day victory Saturday in Weed.

Defense and special teams played a huge role in both wins. The Eagles scored three touchdowns on De Anza punt plays, and only one of the offense's four touchdown drives was longer than 22 yards.

Everything came together for the 14-10 win against a Yuba team that defeated the Eagles on their home field 55-21 earlier in the season. The defense held Yuba scoreless after half time, the offense scored touchdowns on two 80-yard drives in the fourth quarter, and special teams got a safety while forcing Yuba to start drives on its own side of the field.

"It was really good to see our players and coaches so excited," head coach Tyler Knudsen said after the Yuba victory. "I'm most proud of how they kept battling. They're so resilient and keep fighting and competing. When you're not having the season you want, and you get down early by 10 points, it can be tough. But they didn't cash it in. They kept laying it on the line."

Saturday's blowout win over De Anza was a whole different thing. The Eagles led 13-0 after one quarter, 27-0 at half time, and 37-0 after three quarters.

Knudsen said he is "really proud of the sophomore group" that was recognized prior to Saturday's game. Those sophomores are defensive back Jehan King of Madison, AL; kicker Ryan Travis of Pierce; defensive back Jarvis McKyer of Bryan, TX; wide receiver Trey Woodrich of Astoria, OR; wide receiver Craig Edera of North Bend, OR; defensive back Andre Estrada of Independence, OR; defensive lineman Jayden Dorsey of Cheney, WA; and wide receiver Trevor Sharrar of Phoenix, OR.

King, McKyer, Estrada, and Dorsey are among the team's top tacklers. Travis leads the Eagles in scoring and is averaging close to 40 yards per punt. Woodrich is second on the team in pass receptions and Sharrar is fourth.

Another sophomore on the roster, Christian Givan, has been out with an injury this season and will be eligible to return next year.

Knudsen hopes the team's strong play late in the season will be a "springboard for the freshmen" who dominated this year's roster.

He said the sophomores have been good teammates and good leaders, "showing up, battling, and competing. Not every group of sophomores acts that way."

Many freshmen and sophomores made big contributions to the two consecutive victories.

In Saturday's shutout, the Eagles had to go just 22 yards for their first touchdown after running back Demetrius McWillie forced a fumble on a punt return and running back Anthony Martin-Sweet recovered it deep in De Anza territory. Quarterback Wayce Saluskin connected with wide receiver Neil Kniefel for a 21-yard touchdown pass on the third play of the drive. It was 6-0 after a two-point conversion run came up short.

De Anza's next drive ended when defensive lineman Elijah Freauff blocked a punt, recovered the loose ball, and ran it into the end zone from 10 yards out. The PAT kick by Ryan Travis made it 13-0.

The Eagles put together their longest scoring drive of the day early in the second quarter, going 67 yards on 10 plays and scoring on a 1-yard run by Kniefel. The drive included a 30-yard pass from Saluskin to Trevor Sharrar on 3rd and 10 from the Eagles' 44, and running back Marcus Ledesma had 4 rushes for 24 yards. Travis kicked the PAT to make it 20-0.

De Anza's next drive lasted just two plays, ending when Jehan King intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards to the De Anza 11. Three consecutive carries by Ledesma followed, including a 1-yard TD run. The lead was 27-0 after Travis's PAT kick with 2:08 to play in the half.

Travis kicked a 39-yard field goal to cap a 9 play, 34-yard drive midway through the third quarter and up the lead to 30-0. That drive featured 7 rushes in a row by Ledesma, including an 8-yarder on 4th-and-3 from the De Anza 33. The drive started at the Eagle 44-yard line after the defense held De Anza to three-and-out and forced a punt from the 22.

The Eagles scored another TD late in the third quarter on a play that featured a blocked punt by defensive back Saxon Farkas. Again, Travis kicked the PAT to make it 37-0.

King put the finishing touches on a standout day by special teams, returning a botched punt 5 yards to paydirt, followed by a Travis PAT kick.

For the game, the Eagles had just one more yard of offense than De Anza, 161 to 160, but the defense limited De Anza to an average of just 2.6 yards per play.

Saluskin threw just 7 passes in the game, completing 5 of them for 55 yards. Ledesma had 75 yards on 25 carries, and Skyler Crane rushed 7 times for 25 yards. Travis was 5 for 5 on PAT kicks and made his only field goal attempt. He averaged 47.2 yards on 6 punts and five of them ended inside the 20.

Kyaw Po returned De Anza's only kickoff 35 yards, and Kniefel had 2 pass catches for 23 yards and 4 punt returns for 54 yards.

King led the defense with 8 total tackles, and linebacker Marcus Delgado had 5 solo tackles and 2 tackles for loss, while Farkas had 5 solo tackles, and Dre'Quan Williams had 4 solo tackles and 1 tackle for loss.

Defensive lineman Brody Thomas had the Eagles' only quarterback sack of the game, defensive back Aisea Takau had a tackle for loss, and defensive lineman Key'Shawn Thomas and running back Brett McKee were each credited with half a tackle for loss.

COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN AT YUBA

In their exciting first win at Yuba, the Eagle defense allowed just 27 yards of offense in the second half and forced punts on six of Yuba's seven drives. The seventh drive lasted just one play, a pass interception by defensive back Colton Oyster at the Yuba 43-yard line with just 16 seconds left in the game.

Like so much of the defense's performance in that second half at Yuba, more than one Eagle rose to the occasion on the play. "Everybody knows who intercepted the pass," Knudsen said, "but there was also an unbelievable effort by Elijah Freauff, who got knocked down, got up, leaped toward the quarterback, and hit his arm as he was throwing."

Knudsen said the defense played faster and more aggressive, at a higher level, and with a lot of confidence in the second half. "We really had them on their heels."

While the offense had scoring opportunities that didn't pan out in the first half, defense and special teams earned the Eagles' first 2 points. A bad Yuba snap from the center on a third-quarter punt play from the 18-yard line went all the way into the end zone for a safety.

Trailing 10-2 after three quarters, the Eagle offense put together a 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal by Demetrius McWillie. Saluskin completed 4 passes on that drive for 49 yards and had a 9-yard run on third-and-goal from the Yuba 10.

The defense held Yuba to 8 plays and 22 yards on two subsequent drives, and the offense got the ball at its own 19 yard line with 3 minutes to play. Saluskin completed 5 passes for 76 yards on the 10-play, 81-yard drive that followed, the last of those passes was a 20-yard touchdown throw to Kniefel with 32 seconds remaining.

Knudsen said he was proud of Saluskin for the way he played down the stretch at Yuba, including "three or four huge runs, getting out of pressure, putting his head down and battling. The offense followed him."

The coach also praised sophomore kicker Ryan Travis for his punting and kicking, including one 47-yard punt and two that ended inside the 20.

Knudsen said the defense showed its improvement since the earlier loss to Yuba and "stood tall with our backs against the wall. We knew we had to stay in the fight for 60 minutes, and they did."

Saluskin completed 17 of 33 pass attempts against Yuba for 186 yards with 1 touchdown throw and 1 interception.

Ledesma carried the ball 19 times for 83 yards, McWillie had 34 yards on 24 carries, and Crane carried 3 times for 11 yards.

Trey Woodrich had 6 catches for 65 yards, Trevor Sharrar 3 catches for 55 yards, and Kniefel 3 catches for 34 yards and the game-winning TD.

Defensive back King caught a pass for 17 yards, and Genaro Reyno had 2 catches for 17 yards.

Dre'Quan Williams, Marcus Delgado, and Noah Snyder were in on 6 tackles each to lead the defense. Delgado also had a pass interception.

King and Key'Shawn Thomas were in on 4 tackles each; Adrain Barnett and Saxon Farkas 3 each; and Oyster, Julian Gomez, Kyaw Po, Tyler Martino, Elijah Freauff, Jayden Dorsey, and Aisea Takau 2 each.

Two tackles in the game were credited to the team, including the safety.

By Steve Gerace