FC falls short in 56-34 deficit

The 1-4 Eagles football team started league play on homecoming night, facing off against Riverdale Christian, Oct. 4. Plagued by injuries, FCS hoped to turn their season around after a 9-0 deficit vs Stoneridge Christian.

Riverdale put 12 points on the board in the first half of the first quarter. After a 20-yard kick return from running back Blake Burdan, ‘20, Eagle quarterback Tyler Stots, ‘20, ran in his first touchdown of the night.

FC trailed Riverdale until late into the 2nd quarter. Burdan ran for his third touchdown of the night, putting the Eagles up 28-26.

Burdan, No. 2, carried the ball 12 times for 151 yards of offense, but his biggest impact came from kick returns. He received all but one kickoff, ran an average return of 30 yards and earned a total of 212 special teams yards with one touchdown.

Riverdale answered the Eagles lead with 1:46 left in the first half. FC coaches called a no-huddle offense, but the Eagle drive made it only to the Riverdale 36 yard-line before time expired.

Second half

The third quarter saw two more lead changes, including a drive were Stots, No. 3, ran the ball four times in a row before crossing the goal line. However, the Eagles struggled to stop Riverdale Christian’s No. 21, Coy Boahnnan, ‘20, who ran for 260 yards and two touchdowns.

The game was still in the air at the start of the 4th quarter, as FC trailed Riverdale 42-34. Riverdale’s QB, Noah Barrea, ‘21, completed a controversial touchdown pass to Roy Bohannan, ‘21, who FC cornerbacks argued was out of bounds when he caught the ball.

The Eagles had a chance to regain momentum with 9 minutes left, but failed to convert on a 4th down. Riverdale scored the final touchdown of the game with 4:25 remaining, resulting in a final score of 56-34.

Riverdale out-ran FC 340 yards to our 214, and passed for 135 yards compared to the Eagle’s 77 yards through the air.

After the game, Burdan spoke with journalist Richie Cortez. Despite the loss, he says spirits are high for next week’s game at Laton.

“It was nice we were finally able to get on the board, we were able to get some good plays,” Burdan said. “Our offense was clicking, we made a couple mental mistakes but that’s just football, and we have some momentum heading into next week.”

Postgame interview with senior running back Blake Burdan, on a back and forth matchup between league opponent Riverdale Christian. This concludes #FCHomecoming19@PAGMETER @P356Loeffler @KingKMPH @agalaviz_TheBee @StephenABC30 @SBemisOnline @corinhoggard @calhisports pic.twitter.com/o2uMIdZ02Q

— Richie Cortez (@richie_cortez9) October 5, 2019

The Eagles play next on the road against Laton, Oct. 11. Their next home game is Oct. 25 vs Alpaugh.

For more football articles, read Football kicks year off with 24-0 victory and Blog: Fantasy football talk, week No. 4.