Fallbrook Warriors shutdown by Lancers, 45-0

The Sept. 27 football game on Fallbrook High School’s field ended as a 45-0 victory for Carlsbad High School at Fallbrook High School’s expense, although much of the Lancers’ scoring occurred after Carlsbad wore down Fallbrook’s defense.

“The kids played hard. They just ran into one of the giants of the county and we got physically outmatched,” said Fallbrook head coach Kyle Williams.

The Lancers had a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. The field goal was Carlsbad’s first of the season, which meant that Fallbrook’s defense had more success inside the 20-yard-line than the Lancers’ previous opponents. “Our guys held tough in the red zone,” Williams said.

On other occasions Carlsbad didn’t even reach field goal range. “We made them punt four times, which is more than they had punted combined in four games coming into our game,” Williams said.

“We actually played a more disciplined game than Carlsbad did,” Williams said. “They hurt themselves with penalties which allowed us to stay in the game.”

The score was 17-0 with just over a minute remaining in the first half. Carlsbad then completed an eight-yard pass – which was followed by a missed tackle allowing the receiver to run 60 yards for a touchdown and giving the Lancers a 24-0 halftime lead. Carlsbad held a 38-0 lead entering the fourth quarter.

“Our biggest problem was we weren’t able to convert first downs on offense,” Williams said.

Fallbrook had three first downs during the game. The Warriors took 35 offensive snaps. Carlsbad’s offense took 64 snaps, which eventually overran the Warrior defense. “Our defense actually played better than they have all year,” Williams said.

“In the 64 snaps, 52 of them we went toe to toe with one of the most explosive teams in the county and the state,” Williams said. “There were those 12 other plays where we either made a mental mistake or missed a tackle.”

Carlsbad was the first of three highly-ranked teams the Warriors will face in a five-week period. Fallbrook has an Oct. 4 bye and will open Avocado East League competition Oct. 11 at San Pasqual, the San Diego Section’s second-ranked team. After an Oct. 18 game against El Camino, Fallbrook hosts top-ranked Mission Hills on Oct. 25.

“Our ultimate goal is to win a Division III championship,” Williams said. “Playing great teams like Carlsbad and Mission Hills and San Pasqual will only prepare us.”

Fallbrook is in Division III for CIF playoff purposes.

“We’re going to use the bye to keep practices competitive. We want to get stronger,” Williams said.