EL CENTRO— In a pre-season football game that came down to the final seconds, Southwest stunned the O’Farrell Charter visitors section with a swooping talon that carried the Eagles to an 8-0 victory over the Falcons in EL Centro, Friday, September 19.
Southwest started with possession at their own 24-yard line after the opening kickoff. The Eagles utilized a mix of run calls to Adrian Jauregui, Abe Moreno, and Joshua Ibarra to move the pigskin forward. Amid moving the chains down to midfield, on a six-play sequence, Southwest was forced to punt in their opening drive.
O’Farrell Charter initiated their first offensive outing from near midfield at the 42-yard line. Repeated run plays penetrated possession through Eagle territory to inside the Southwest redzone. Defenders Ignacio Perez and Jauregui came up big on a crucial third down for the purple and gold that backed up the Falcons for fourth down. After a bad snap slipped passed the OC QB, Southwest regained possession with no damage done.
The Eagles’ second offensive trip began at their own 33-yard line. On first down, Damian Cordero zipped a laser across the field to Leonardo Valenzuela, who dove out of bounds to secure a 12-yard reception while maintaining two feet in the field of play.
O’Farrell Charter’s defense did not doze and held strong for the next three plays before forcing Southwest to their second punt of the contest.
The Falcons’ next offensive opportunity was short-lived as SW forced a fumble that was recovered by Valenzuela. With under two minutes left in the opening period, the Eagles couldn’t find their mark after an incomplete pass attempt on fourth down.
Before the first quarter was out, the Eagles capitalized on another heads-up defensive play when Vicente Valenzuela Perez pried in a fumble recovery.
On the first play of the second quarter, Southwest called a run attempt from inside the 10-yard line that was snagged away when O’Farrell Charter stripped the ball and recovered a fumble of their own right.
Near the midway point of the second quarter, the Falcons fired off a 13-play drive that set up a field goal attempt for the last play of the first half. O’Farrell Charter faked the kick, but Eagle defender Ignacio Perez busted up the play. The scoreboard read 0-0 at intermission.
The contest remained scoreless all the way through till the final minutes of the fourth quarter. O’Farrell Charter navigated deep into Eagle territory with under a minute left in the game.
With 42 seconds to go, on third and 16 from the SW 19-yard line, the Falcons called a pass attempt over the middle. As the ball spiraled on target to the receiver curling into the reception, Eagle defensive back, Valenzuela jumped the route and intercepted the ball. Valenzuela followed his blockers into traffic, then zagged back outside to straddle the sideline for 95 yards into the end zone. Southwest added on insurance after Damian Cordero crunched through the pylon for a successful 2-point conversion.
The final whistle blew on an 8-0 Eagle shutout.