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Warriors win first football game since 2018

The April 2 football game between Fallbrook High School and Escondido High School was Fallbrook's first varsity football win since 2018.

The Warriors never trailed in the 21-15 game at Fallbrook and at one point had a two-touchdown lead.

"It was a great win for the kids. They just played hard, played smart, played together," said Fallbrook Head Coach Troy Everhart.

The win was the first for Everhart as Fallbrook's football coach. Everhart, who took over the program in 2019, endured 12 losses before the team development allowed for his first Warriors victory.

Darius Pickett was Fallbrook's coach in 2018 when the Warriors defeated Sweetwater on the field Aug. 24 and later were awarded a forfeit win against Castle Park when the Trojans did not have enough players to field a team. Following the 30-12 victory over Sweetwater, the Warriors lost 20 consecutive games on the field before the win over Escondido.

The game was scoreless for the first period. Midway in the second quarter the Warriors completed an eight-play drive of 60 yards with a Kenneth Spring quarterback keeper which gained the final two yards for the touchdown.

"We also had a big 30-yard conversion on third down," Everhart said of that drive.

That 30-yard play was a pass from Spring to Noah MacMillan. Following the touchdown, Josh Gomez kicked the extra point to give Fallbrook a 7-0 lead.

The Cougars scored a touchdown with eight seconds left in the half, and the extra point created a 7-7 score at halftime.

"We only got three drives in the first half," Everhart said.

Escondido's offensive drives limited the Warriors' time of possession. "They did a nice job. They didn't score in the first quarter, but they did a nice job of converting," Everhart said.

One of Escondido's first-quarter possessions ended with an interception by Trent Pack. Everhart cites other defensive efforts which kept the Cougars from scoring. "The kids tackled really hard," he said.

The Warriors had no turnovers while on offense. "That's part of the key to winning," Everhart said.

A turnover is considered an interception or a fumble rather than a turnover on downs, which ended Fallbrook's first possession of the third quarter. "We marched the ball way down the field and didn't convert on fourth down," Everhart said.

The Cougars made the fourth-down stop less than 10 yards from the end zone. Fallbrook's defense then deprived Escondido of a first down. "A huge play for us defensively," Everhart said.

The punt landed at the Escondido 40. After the Warriors reached the one-yard-line, Spring ran the ball into the end zone and Gomez's extra point gave Fallbrook a 14-7 lead.

With just under four minutes left, Spring ran 83 yards for a touchdown, and Gomez kicked the extra point for a 21-7 lead with about 3:40 remaining.

About two minutes of play later, an Escondido touchdown made the score 21-13. The hold for the point after was muffed, but Escondido was able to pass the ball into the end zone for a two-point conversion.

Escondido quarterback Robert Ramos tested the Fallbrook defense with both passing and running. "He just did a tremendous job. He accounted for practically all their offense," Everhart said. "He's got a live arm."

Ramos would not have the opportunity to give the Cougars the lead. Fallbrook's Reese Holmes recovered the onside kick with 1:36 remaining.

"We had to get a first down because they had two timeouts left," Everhart said.

Spring's third-down run obtained that necessary yardage, and the Warriors then ran out the clock with kneel downs.

"I thought our young kids did a really great job," Everhart said.

The win improved Fallbrook's 2020-21 season record to 1-2.

If no postponements occur, Fallbrook will travel to San Pasqual for a game tomorrow.

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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