Abby can’t find footing against Eagles

The Abbotsford Falcons went into their homecoming game against Auburndale in pursuit of their first Marawood conference victory. They came out of the game still searching for that elusive win. The Eagles dominated the first half by scoring 42 unanswered points and dropped the home team 49-6.

From the onset, very little went the Falcons’ way on Friday. Auburndale seemed to have answers, both on offense and defense, for anything Abbotsford threw their way and quickly demonstrated why they were undefeated going into the game. On the Eagles first series, they moved the ball down the field with relative ease, spreading the Falcons out with their four wide-receiver sets and utilizing the legs of quarterback Trayton Weber and running back Evan Scholl. Both had big runs for the visitors on their opening series, with Weber pulling the ball on an option play and then scampering for a 51yard touchdown to put Auburndale on the board first.

After going three-and-out in their first offensive possession, the Abbotsford offense was looking to bounce back and draw even with their opponents. However, a penalty on a big run by quarterback JV Castillo set the Falcons back, not only erasing the play but putting them behind the chains as well. Hoping to gain some much needed yards, Abby went to the air. Castillo unleashed a ball under pressure intended for Evan Schunk, but it was picked off by Auburndale’s Blake Raab and returned for a touchdown.

Unable to make anything happen on their next drive, the Falcons once again needed to give the ball back to Auburndale. The Eagles showed off the other facet of their offense, their passing attack, on the next drive. Weber hit Alex Willfarht for an 11-yard completion that gave Auburndale a first down conversion and then found Aden Cherney for a 27-yard touchdown pass several plays later.

Things went from bad to worse for the Falcons. On their following possession, a fumbled ball was scooped up by the Eagles and returned for a touchdown. Two more scores in the second quarter would put Auburndale up 42-0 at halftime.

Abbotsford finally got the big play they had been looking for in the third quarter. Christian Fuentes slipped several tackles and won the foot race against Auburndale’s final defender to score on a 69-yard run. The touchdown brought some life back into the stadium, prompting cheers from a student section that had been held largely silent until that point.

While Abbotsford managed to play the Eagles evenly in the second half, the damage had already been done and Auburndale walked away with the 49-6 victory.

Abbotsford had 211 yards on the ground, led by Fuentes’s 105 on 13 carries. Castillo had 35 on 11 carries, Aguilera added 33 on four rushing attempts, and Emilio Escalera had 20 yards on five attempts. Chase Boller had four carries for 16 yards and Jacob Hirsch had two carries for two yards.

Castillo went three-for-six passing for twenty yards and an interception. Evan Reis, Brandon Diedrich, and Fuentes each had one catch, going for 17, one, and three yards respectively.

Schunk led the team in tackles, recording eight on the evening. Escalera and Diedrich had five each and Castillo was in on four himself.

The Falcons quest for their first Marawood win continues this week. They will take on the undefeated Colby Hornets next, making the short trip south this Friday with hopes of dealing their rivals their first loss of the season. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.