FOOTBALL SPORTS SHORTS–SEASON END–
Fall semester 2005
Football’s overall record is 1-9 and 0-4 in the NWSL as of Nov. 10.

TRANQUILLITY 61, FC 20 on NOV. 10–
While the Tigers rolled to a 61-20, victory on Nov. 10, the evening was dedicated to celebrating the five Eagles seniors’ contributions to the team: Joey Montejano, Tim Wilborn, Matt Doyle, Jordan Hogue and Seth Lane. They were honored before game time.

Junior quarterback J. D. Perry had a hand in all three Eagle touchdowns as he passed for two and ran for one.

Tranquillity opened the scoring with two touchdowns in the first quarter after FC turnovers. However, the Eagles drove the ball in the beginning of the second when Ryan Taylor was wide open for a 20-yard touchdown pass from Perry to close make the score 13-7. Yet it was all Tranquillity after that as the Tigers led 33-7 at half time.

After a 70-yard kickoff return to start the second half, the Tigers added 10 more points before John Petrogononas caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Perry. The Tigers led 55-14 after three quarters and traded touchdowns in the fourth as Perry scored on a 1-yard run.

Perry finished the game with 73 yards on 15 carries and was 11-24 passing for 139 yards and one interception. Joey Montejano caught 3 passes for 77 yards to lead the Eagle receiving corp. He also rushed for 10 yards on 3 carries.

MENDOTA 27, FC 13 on OCT. 28–
With a homecoming crowd behind them, Mendota did not disappoint their faithful and defeated FC, 27-13, on Oct. 28. Aztec running back Ray Arroyo ran for 177 yards on 31 carries and was named homecoming king. He also scored Mendota’s only touchdown in the first quarter.

FC tied the score in the first on Chris Erickson’s 25-yard touchdown run. Erikson led the Eagles with 60 yards on 7 carries. However the Aztecs regained the lead late in the quarter on Joseph Villar’s 9-yard run.

The second quarter belonged to Mendota as they scored twice. Able Abarca scored on a 27-yard pass play from Jose Reyes and his second touchdown on a 14-yard run.

The Eagles however did not allow Mendota to score in the second half. FC moved the ball in the third but was unable to score until the fourth when Ryan Brunn scored on a 39-yard run on his only carry. Quarterback J.D. Perry also ran the ball 10 times for 45 yards and Joey Montejano finished the game with 40 yards on 5 carries.

LIBERTY-MADERA RANCHOS 41, FC 7 on OCT. 21–
While the offense sputtered in the first half, junior quarterback J.D. Perry for the second straight week put together a late second half drive to avert a shutout in a 41-7 loss to to Liberty-Madera Ranchos on Oct. 21.

The first half however belonged to the Hawks as they scored five times to take a 35-0 half time lead. The Eagles defense could not contain Brandon Graham as he scored three touchdowns and had ran for 118 yards on 9 carries.

The second half was different though as the FC defense tightened and Perry began to settle the offense down. Perry led the Eagles in rushing with 62 yards on 7 carries and scored on a 27-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Ryan Taylor added the extra point. Perry also connected on 3 passes for 36 yards on 6 attempts.

FIREBAUGH 40, FC 6 on OCT. 14–
Firebaugh opened the 27th annual Fresno Christian homecoming with an air attack and its defense shut out FC in the first half enroute to a 40-6 win during homecoming on Oct. 7.

Senior quarterback Stephen Hurt connected with fellow senior Michael Barragan for strikes of 44 and 39 yards and combined for 111 yards over the game and two touchdowns. Barrigan also scored on a 65-yard pass play.

Hurt completed 13-21 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns while senior safety Pedro Garcia, who threw the 65-yard pass to Barragan, had two interceptions. Garcia also had 68 yards rushing on 10 carries. Firebaugh led 26-0 at half time and 40-0 before the home team, determined to score, drove late in the fourth for its first score.

While Firebaugh’s defense stiffled the FC offense all night, senior quarterback J.D. Perry put together a fourth quarter drive that saw junior Chris Erickson will his way into the endzone on a 25-yard touchdown with less than three minutes left. Perry finished the game with his best night as an Eagle QB going 5-12 for 84 yards and two interceptions.

The lone touchdown seemed to show the determination of an Eagle team unwilling to quit despite looming defeat. Erickson’s touchdown run exemplified a season of “no-quit, positive attitude” as he carried three defenders into the endzone from the 5-yard line.

After the half-time festivities of class floats, the marching band and the princess/queen pageants, FC played spirited defense and its offense moved the ball on the ground. Erickson finished the game with 55 yards rushing on 10 carries and Joey Montejano added 60 yards on nine carries. Erickson also caught a pass for 15 yards.

FC 27, FARMERSVILLE 15 on OCT. 7–
With the ground game in high gear, FC opened the first half with a purpose and scored 21 unanswered points to deflate Farmersville and win their first game of the season, 27-15, over the Aztecs.

Nate Weis led all rushers with 12 carries for 94 yards including a 20-yard TD run in the second quarter and a TD reception to open the game. Chris Erickson scored on a 1-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter and FC led 27-3. Erikson finished the game with 74 yards on 14 carries as FC racked up 237 yards on the ground. Erickson and Weis each caught an 8-yard pass as well. Weis’ 8-yard reception opened FC scoring as J.D. Perry found him alone in the end zone and the Eagles led 7-0 early.

After Weis’ first TD, Joey Montejano opened the second quarter with a 65-yard interception for a TD. Farmersville had driven the ball 30 yards and appeared to be gaining confidence when Montejano killed their drive and FC controlled the ball much of the first half afterwards. Aaron Ortiz kicked all three point afterwards in the first half.

While Perry only completed 2 passes, he was effective in moving the FC offense. He kept the defense guessing as mixed up the offensive plays. Perry did throw 3 interceptions but showed he is beginning to pick up the FC offense after starting quarterback Greg Kilgore went down to injury three weeks ago.

The defense continued to play well even after the offense lost 3 fumbles and 3 interceptions. The Eagles next host Firebaugh during the annual homecoming game on Oct. 14. The festivities begin at 5:30 P.M. with the JV game and varsity kicks off at 7:30 P.M.

FOWLER 45, FC 7 on Sept. 30–
Fowler led 14-0 after only 4 minutes of the first quarter and routed FC, 45-7, on Sept. 30. The first half belonged to the Redcats as they moved the ball on the ground throughout. Johnny Mendoza opened the scoring on a 42-yard touchdown run and the Redcats never looked back. Mendoza finished the game with 123 yards rushing on 11 carries and two TDs.

Fowler led 39-0 at half as quarterback Santana Leal completed 10-12 passes for 161 yards. The Eagles scored a late TD set up by a 50+ yard punt return. Joey Montejano scored on a 7-yard rush up the middle and finished the game with 21 yards on 7 carries. Chris Erickson led the Eagles with 32 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Eagles did not complete a pass in the game as the Redcat defense harrassed the Eagles’ receivers and quarterback J.D. Perry all night.

The bright spot was the FC defense as they settled down in the second half and limited the Redcats to only a TD in the second half. They also blocked 4 Fowler after point conversion attempts.

While the Eagles went 0-5 in non-conference play, their opponents all are ranked in their divisions with winning records. FC opens Northwest league play on Oct. 7 at home against Farmersville on Oct. 7 at Clark Intermediate.

COAST UNION 41, FC 7 on Sept. 23–
While FC only had 58 total yards offense in the first half, the defense kept the Eagles in the game. Coast Union scored in the first 30 seconds on a 1-yard run after their QB Kiernen Heavenruch connected on a 53-yard pass to Jeb Hopkins and Dustin Moon scored on a 1-yard run. Three minutes later Moon scored on a 3-yard run to close out the first half.

Heavenruch led all rushers with 107 yards and passed 9-21 and 143 yards with two interceptions while Moon added 82 rushing yards.

Heavenruch ran for a 5-yard TD as the second half began and it appeared a rout would overwhelm the Eagles. However, the defensive line regrouped and began pressuring and harrassing Heavenruch and the two teams traded possessions throughout the rest of the half. Junior Chris Erickson ran for 67 yards to lead the Eagles in rushing.

Then with less than two minutes remaining, the defense, led by junior Jimmy Brown, forced Heavenruch to make an errant pass and junior Zack Bell returned it 42 yards for a TD. The Broncos led 21-7 at the half but momentum had definitely swung the Eagles direction.

The second half started and the Eagles moved the ball to the Broncos 37-yard line in their second passession but the drive stalled and the momentum with it. While they drove the ball to Coast’s 14-yard line in the fourth quarter, the Eagles could not punch it over again as quarterback J.D. Perry was sacked a couple of times and penalties at key moments fizzled the comeback. Coast defeated FC, 41-7.

FC finished the game with 110 yards of total offense while the Broncos finished with 398. Injuries again cost the Eagles two more players as junior John Petrongonas suffered a concussion during a kickoff in the first half and sophomore Ryann Brunn pinched a nerve in his neck during a punt return late in the game. Both are not expected to play against Fowler on Sept. 30.

STRATHMORE 29, FC 13 on Sept. 16–
For the second week in a row, FC was able to defend and score in the first half, keeping the Sept.16 Strathmore game close. Quarterback Greg Kilgore hit John Petrogones on an 18-yard pass and run play for the only scoring in the first quarter. While the PAT failed, FC was in the game. Even after Strathmore scored to tie the game in the second quarter, Kilgore scored again on a 20-yard run to put the Eagles ahead again. But Strathmore scored late in the second half and the tide seemed to turn.

Strathmore scored two long runs of 65 and 38 yards in the third quarter and FC was not able to respond as Kilgore was injured in the game in the second half and did not return. Sophomore Ryan Brunn took over the helm but was unable to jumpstart the offense.

Strathmore won the game, 29-13, as both squads were unable to score in the fourth quarter. The offensive bright spots for the Eagles included Chris Erickson who rushed 18 times for 92 yards and Jeremy Ramos who rushed for 28 yards and caught one pass for 18 yards. Kilgore went 4-7 and 50 yards passing with no interceptions and rushed 3 times for 16 yards.

IMMANUEL 49, FC 7 on Sept. 9–
Immanuel and their large following of blue-clad fans rolled into Clovis to take on the campus Eagles on Sept. 9. However the Christian school rivalry was only close until 16 seconds left in the first half when Immanuel took a 21-7 lead rolled to a 49-7 win.

Quarterback Greg Kilgore scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter and Aaron Ortiz tied the game with his PAT after Immanuel scored early on a 45-yard run from scrimmage. The FC defense held Immanuel throughout most of the first haf but finally were worn down and gave up two TDs late.

After fumbling once and intercepting twice, Immanuel rolled in the second half to continue their dominance in the 15-year series. The visiting Eagles ran for over 370 yards and controled much of the second half. Immanuel defeated FC, 19-3, on Sept. 10, 2004. The visiting Eagles are ranked fifth in Division 4 and travel to Caruthers next week while FC will visit Strathmore.

The campus cheerleaders sponsored a cheer clinic for elementary students during Sept. 6-9 and the young cheerleaders cheered during the varsity game.

C.V.C. 58, FC 0 on Sept. 2–
Central Valley Christian defeated FC, 58-0, to open the football season for both clubs on Sept. 2 at Grizzlies Stadium in downtown Fresno. The FC offense was stymied by a smoothering Cavalier defense that limited FC to one first down for the whole game. But FC also was its own worst enemy committing numerous errors leading to 14 first quarter C.V.C. points. The Cavaliers also recovered a fumble and led 35-0 at half time.

FC could only manage 42 yards in total offense. C.V.C. has won 27 straight games and is the two-time defending Division 5 champion. Over 1370 fans attended the Christian Schools’ rival game. FC’s overall record is 0-1.

Student leadership also sponsored a Kiddie Karnival during both JV and varsity games. The game booths were free with paid admission to the game. Games included a pitching booth, two bounce houses, face-painting, fish for candy, cake-walk, ring toss, and more. Hundreds of kids participated in the annual event.