Eagles Play at Home Saturday after Season-Opening 2 OT Victory

The temperature was 105 degrees when College of the Siskiyous opened its 2024 football season on the road Saturday against a team that beat them badly last year.

That was then, this is now, and these Eagles had five takeaways, zero turnovers, and converted many third downs while outlasting Coalinga College, 29-21, in a game that went two overtimes.

Siskiyous scored the winning touchdown in the second OT on a 3-yard run by No. 99, Zaveon Jones, a 6-foot-1, 275 pound freshman who also had a productive day (6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and a forced fumble) while playing on the defensive line.

Jones, a very good high school running back, had 3 carries for 13 yards on the winning drive, which, by overtime rule, started at Coalinga's 25 yard line.

Two Eagle freshmen – quarterback Andreus Smith and wide receiver Jake Westerman -- connected on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, which is mandatory following touchdowns starting with the second overtime period.

The Eagle defense clinched the win when freshman defensive back Aidan Nelson intercepted and returned a fourth-down pass before sliding to a stop.

Adam Groppi said his first game as the Eagles' head coach was "crazy." He praised his players for staying level-headed and fighting through it when things didn't go their way on a very hot day in the San Joaquin Valley.

They returned home with a 1-0 record, no significant injuries, and a goal of continuing to improve going into this Saturday's home opener against Gavilan of Gilroy.

The offensive statistics from Saturday's opener at Coalinga show the home team had 23 first downs and 372 yards of total offense compared to Siskiyous' 17 first downs and 281 yards. But the Eagles forced and recovered three fumbles and picked off two passes without ever turning the ball over.

Ten different Eagles – running backs, quarterback Smith, wide receivers, and defensive lineman Jones – combined to accumulate 201 rushing yards.

Helped by their ability to convert 10 of 20 third-down plays and their one fourth down play, the Eagles led three times in regulation: 7-0 in the first quarter, 14-7 in the second quarter, and 21-14 in the fourth quarter. Coalinga, which thumped the Eagles last fall, 62-3, tied the score Saturday and forced overtime on a short touchdown run with just 37 seconds to play in the fourth.

Both teams got one chance to score from the opposing team's 25 yard line in each overtime period. The Eagles held Coalinga to 7 yards in the first OT, before missing a 43-yard field goal attempt.

The Eagles opened the game's scoring midway through the first quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Smith to freshman receiver David Wacenske and a PAT kick by Genaro Reyna. They had to go just 40 yards for that score after freshman linebacker Truit McCaughey recovered a Coalinga fumble on a punt return.

Coalinga tied score on a 19 yard touchdown run late in first quarter. The Eagles then drove 60 yards in 10 plays and took the lead again on a 6-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Bryson McFall and a Reyna PAT kick with 4 minutes to play in the first half.

That drive included a 3-yard pass from Smith to Wacenske on a 3rd-and-8 play and an 11-yard run by Wacenske on a fly sweep.

Coalinga came right back to tie it, going 75 yards on 6 plays, including a 30-yard touchdown pass with just 35 seconds left in the half.

Following a scoreless third quarter, the Eagles got the ball on their own 42-yard line early in the fourth quarter after sophomore linebacker Marcus Delgado and freshman defensive back Aidan Kranjcec sacked Coalinga quarterback Logan Johnson on a 4th-and-5 play.

The 9-play, 48-yard drive that followed ended with a 16-yard scoring pass from Smith to Westerman and Reyna's third PAT kick. The drive featured a 13-yard pass from Smith to Wacenske on 3rd and 4, an 8-yard run by sophomore Anthony Martin-Sweet, and a 20-yard run by Smith on a 3rd-and-2 play.

For the game, Smith completed 7 of 17 pass attempts for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran the ball 10 times for 47 yards. Some of his runs were planned, some weren't, according to Groppi, who credited the freshman quarterback with managing the game well, running well, and avoiding turnovers.

Wacenske had 3 pass catches for 66 yards and a touchdown and 2 rushes for 23 yards.

McFall topped the list of Eagle ball-carriers with 52 yards on 11 rushes. Martin-Sweet had a team-high 12 carries for 44 yards, while sophomore Marcus Ledesma had 7 carries for 16 yards and sophomore Skylar Crane carried 5 times for 6 yards.

Sophomore receiver Lucas Cousens caught 2 passes, had one run from scrimmage and gained 64 yards on 4 kickoff returns.

Groppi said the Eagles were using defensive lineman Zaveon Jones as a running back in their goal-line packages based on his history as a very good high school running back in Mountlake Terrace, WA. It worked well on the game-winning drive.

For the defense, Marcus Delgado had 8 total tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery; freshman defensive back Wesley Santiago had 6 solo tackles, 8 total tackles and forced a fumble; and freshmen linebackers Cody Clarke (4 solo tackles, 1 pass break-up) and Cody Huntsinger (3 solo tackles) both had 5 total tackles each.

Freshman defensive back Juan Serna had 4 tackles, assisted on a tackle for loss, and intercepted a pass; freshman defensive back Aidan Nelson had 3 solo tackles and a pass interception; and sophomore defensive backs Lance Stewart and Saxon Farkas had 3 solo tackles each.

Freshman defensive back Aidan Kranjcec and sophomore defensive lineman Brody Thomas assisted on a sack, and Thomas finished with 1.5 tackles for loss.

Truit McCaughey and sophomore linebacker Tyler Martino had fumble recoveries.

Groppi said the Eagles' young offensive line, with only all-conference player Andrew Bouska returning, did well in the Coalinga heat and is expected to show big improvements moving forward.

Saturday's opponent, Gavilan, was winless last year and lost its first game this season, 49-14, to De Anza.

By Steve Gerace