Fuentes, Falcons run over Pacelli to remain unbeaten
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford Falcons football team remained undefeated after cruising to a 43-6 road victory over the Pacelli Cardinals last Friday.
Abbotsford scored 28 points in the first quarter and ran for over 400 yards over the course of the game in their second CWCSmall conference contest of the season. The Pacelli defense could do little to stop the Falcons’ vaunted rushing attack, giving up 14.3 yards per rush.
Meanwhile, Abbotsford’s defense held their own, only allowing 3.5 yards per carry on the ground and picking off Pacelli quarterback Jacob Williams three times.
Junior running back Christian Fuentes showcased his speed and vision against the Cardinals, needing just six carries to amass 188 yards and three touchdowns. His 30-yard run on Abbotsford’s set play from scrimmage set up the Falcons’ first score of the game, a 27-yard touchdown scamper up the gut from quarterback Irvin Aguilera. After Abbotsford’s defense forced a second straight three-and-out, Fuentes broke away from the Pacelli defense on a 65-yard touchdown run that put the Falcons up 14-0 after just four minutes of game time.
While the Cardinals were able to start their third drive in Abbotsford territory after a long kick return, a third-down sack from Andres Lopez forced Pacelli to go back to the air on fourth and long. Williams overthrew his receiver on the following play and Fuentes picked him off to end the threat.
A penalty on the return set the Falcons deep in their own territory, but the Abbotsford line continued to create large seams for their backs to take advantage of and another long run from Fuentes pushed them near midfield. Chase Boller followed up with two big plays of his own on the ground as the Falcons pushed onto Pacelli’s side of the field. Aguilera finished off the drive, bouncing off would-be tacklers and crashing into the endzone on a 12-yard touchdown run.
Another three-and-out was forced by the Falcons’ defense and, after a short punt, Fuentes broke a tackle on Abbotsford’s first play on the following possession and bounced it to the outside, outsprinting the rest of the Cardinals defenders for his second touchdown of the quarter. The 43-yard touchdown run put Abbotsford up 28-0 heading into the second quarter.
A long pass play to Pacelli’s Eric Reincke set up the Cardinals in Abbotsford territory in the second quarter, but the Falcons defense locked down and forced another fourth-down. Williams tried to find receiver Malise Beduhn downfield on the play but Boller came down with the underthrown ball for Abbotsford’s second pick of the game. Chunk runs from Fuentes, Aguilera and Emilio Escalera pushed the Falcons inside Pacelli’s 10yard line on the following possession and Fuentes punched it in from seven yards out for his third touchdown of the game.
An Irvin Davila interception ended Pacelli’s next drive and the Falcons went into halftime with a 35-0 lead.
With a running clock, Abbotsford’s first drive of the second half drained eight minutes of game time. Pacelli was finally able to score on their next possession, but their drive took another ten minutes, leaving just six minutes left in the half and little hope for a comeback for the home team. The Falcons completely closed that door when a long run from Jesus Reyes set up an eventual Carter Cihlar touchdown run from seven yards out. The Cardi-
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nals managed to get inside Abbotsford’s 10-yard line on their second possession of the half, but could not score as time ran out.
On top of Fuentes’ monster 188-yard day, three other Falcons’ players ran for over 50 yards, with Boller coming up with 56 yards on six carries, Aguilera adding 55 yards and two touchdowns on five carries and Reyes putting up 52 yards on four touches. Jaxon Ploeckelman picked up 28 yards on four carries, Escalera had 15 yards on two carries and Cihlar had the seven yard touchdown run.
With the success in the running game, the Falcons did not turn to the air often against Pacelli. Aguilera only completed one of his five passing attempts, hitting AJ Brodhagen for a nine yard completion.
Brodhagen, Lopez and Davila all had five total tackles to lead the team in the category. The three interceptions were the most by the team this season.
The Falcons will look to remain undefeated as they invite the Assumption Royals into town for their homecoming game this Friday, Sept. 20. The Royals have yet to win a game at this point in the season, holding an 0-4 record and only averaging 6.5 points per game. They are coming off a 41-0 blowout loss to Iola-Scandinavia. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
