In an evening at the Menifee stadium, the Eagles took on the undefeated RCC Tigers who are ranked second in the state. The Eagles who went into this matchup without a win looked to get an upset win against the Tigers in hopes of turning this season around.
On the Tigers’ first drive, they scored in just two plays with Bryce Strong’s 50-yard touchdown run. The Tigers took an early 7-0 lead over the Eagles. However, the Tigers’ lead did not last long since the Eagles responded with a great drive of their own that was capped off by Zach Zella’s screen pass to Matthew Caldera for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7. The tie was short-lived as the Tigers’ offense moved down the field for another touchdown with Jordan Barton connecting with Earnest McDaniel which put the Tigers ahead again with a 14-7 lead. On the Tiger’s kickoff, the Eagles muffed the football and the Tigers quickly recovered on the Eagle’s 18-yard line. The Tigers turned that turnover into points with Ayinde Bankole’s rushing touchdown. The Tigers were up 21-7 and quickly shifted the momentum. The Eagles took over on their own 35 and anticipated catching up with the Tigers to lower their deficit. Unfortunately, the Eagles struggled to push forward on offense and the Tigers’ defense forced a quick three-and-out. The Tigers added to their lead with a rushing touchdown by Barton to give the Tigers a 28-7 lead. The Eagle’s offense was held to another three-and-out to force another punt. The Tigers looked to extend their lead, but Barton’s pass was intercepted by Carsten Mamaril to give the Eagles’ a chance to get back in the game. The Eagles ran a promising drive but were unable to move onwards and the Tigers received the ball back. Konner Melzer had a great punt that pinned the Tigers at their own one-yard line. The defense forced a three-and-out that put the Eagles’ offense in a good field position. The Eagles went deep into Tiger territory, but the Tigers successfully kept the Eagles out of the end zone and forced a field goal. The Tigers lead was 28-10 over the Eagles. The Tigers moved down the field and kicked a field goal to head into halftime with a 31-10 lead.
The Eagles had the football to start and looked towards making this game a two-possession game again and they formed a promising drive that put the offense in Tiger territory, but back-to-back negative plays forced another punt. The Tigers added to their lead with another field goal to make it a 34-10 lead. The Eagles offense was stopped on the following drive. The Tigers were deep into Eagle territory, but Carsten Mamaril caught another interception and returned it 74 yards. The Eagles capitalized on that big interception return with a touchdown. Zach Zella connected with Christian Kretz on a 15-yard pass for a touchdown. The Tigers’ lead was 34-17. The Tigers responded with a 71-yard drive that was capped off with Barton’s 4-yard touchdown run. The Tigers expanded their lead to 41-17 and ended any chance of an Eagles’ comeback. The Tigers held onto their lead and took a 41-17 victory over the Eagles.
With the loss, the Eagles fall to 0-5 and 0-2 in conference play. In what has been a common theme this season, the Eagles failed to maximize the opportunities that were given to them. The Eagles’ next home game will be the homecoming game against Southwestern on Oct.14. Let’s pack the house for the first-ever homecoming game in the Menifee stadium. Get tickets here.
