Warriors conclude football season with shutout win

Not only was April 16 Senior Night for Fallbrook High School's football team, but it was the Warriors' first regular-season shutout victory since 2016.

The game in Fallbrook ended as a 20-0 Warriors win over Rancho Buena Vista. "I thought the defense played exceptional," said Fallbrook Head Coach Troy Everhart.

"I was very pleased with their performance," Everhart said. "Pitching a shutout against a league opponent, great way to end the whole thing."

The halftime score was 6-0. "We didn't start out very good on offense," Everhart said. "We were not locked in to start the game."

Fallbrook's only turnover on offense was a fumble on the second play of the Warriors' first possession. "Fortunately, the defense saved our tail," Everhart said.

After Fallbrook regained possession 64 yards from the end zone, Kenneth Spring and Marcus Washington ended the drive when Spring completed a 25-yard pass to Washington for the game's first touchdown. The point after attempt was unsuccessful.

The third quarter included the only Rancho Buena Vista turnover. A strip sack gave Fallbrook possession. The inability to identify which player caused the fumble and which player recovered the ball means that several defensive players rather than just one contributed to the Fallbrook takeaway. "I was just extremely pleased with the way they played," Everhart said. "It's the kind of thing we've been trying to get done here for a while."

Statistically a turnover only applies to an interception or a fumble, but Fallbrook also regained possession after a turnover on downs. "We stuffed them on fourth down once," Everhart said.

"They had 79 yards of offense the whole night," Everhart said of RBV. "They had more negative yardage plays than they had positive yardage plays."

The Longhorns' longest play on offense was a 39-yard play late in the first half when Fallbrook was focusing on defending more downfield.

The strip sack was one of several sacks. "Angel Angulo had a big night," Everhart said.

Both of Fallbrook's second-half touchdowns were scored in the fourth quarter although one of those was on a possession which began in the third period. That 84-yard drive culminated with a 22-yard pass from Spring to Washington. The Warriors tried a two-point conversion but were unsuccessful.

With 7:21 left on the clock, the Warriors obtained possession at their own 32-yard-line. That drive ended with a four-yard touchdown run by senior Andre Webb. Fallbrook tried another two-point conversion attempt, and this time Hudson Nash ran the three yards into the end zone for the score.

Senior Night honored all 13 twelfth graders on the Fallbrook roster, although four of them were injured, so only nine seniors played. Four seniors started on offense, all of them on the offensive line, and the defense had three senior starters.

Fallbrook's 2020-21 varsity roster only included seven juniors. "It's the sophomore and freshman class that are not only talented but large in number," Everhart said.

The season-ending win gave Fallbrook a 2-3 final record for the season. "It's a nice way to kind of finish out the school year," Everhart said.

A 36-0 scrimmage victory over Classical Academy doesn't count in the season standings, but it counts towards the experience the Fallbrook players gained. "We played six times. We got those games. The kids got to play," Everhart said.

The 2019 Warriors lost all 10 of their games with seven of those being shutout losses, and they were outscored by a 493-39 margin. "We're getting there," Everhart said.

"Ball control was outstanding compared to last season," Everhart said. "The tackling and blocking has improved."

Although all of the Fallbrook players were trained to play both offensive and defensive positions, only two 2020-21 starters had to play both ways. "We were just fresher," Everhart said.

The coronavirus shutdown deprived the Warriors of the normal 10-game regular season and also caused many multi-sport athletes to split time between football and another sport. The school restrictions prevented weight training for the football players. "We haven't been back in the weight room," Everhart said. "That's where the difference was."

Everhart explained that the offensive line was outmuscled on critical plays. "Our issue all year was converting in the red zone," he said.

Not being physically competitive against teams who had weight room access doesn't reflect adversely on the team's mental strength. "The character of these kids is just amazing," Everhart said. "They're starting to show that toughness."

Everhart compared the spring football season to when he was in college and had spring practice - although college scrimmages don't involve opponents from other schools. In the case of the 2020-21 high school season the spring season partially made up for the loss of a fall season. "That was the whole thing, to get to play," Everhart said.

The 2016 shutout was against Hoover in a non-league game. Fallbrook's previous shutout in league competition was in 2015 against San Pasqual. Fallbrook had not shut out an opponent to conclude the regular season since defeating El Camino in 2003, when the Warriors' final game of the year was the CIF Division I championship game.

"I'm so pleased for our seniors. They've been through so much. I'm pleased for our community," Everhart said.