Abbotsford comes up short in nailbiter in Auburndale

Eagles kick field goal on final play to win

In the end, last Friday’s barn burner between the Abbotsford Falcons and the Auburndale Eagles came down to a single play. On a night full of huge, mometumswinging plays from both teams, the balance hung on the outcome of a field goal attempt on the final down of regulation. The Eagles had used one of those aforementioned big plays to bring themselves down inside Abbotsford’s 10-yard line, but the Falcons defense had held them out of the end zone, coming up with two pivotal stops.

With the score knotted at 31-31 and three seconds remaining, Auburndale trotted out kicker Aden Cherney to try to seal the Homecoming game for the Eagles. Cherney had already made a much longer field goal earlier in the game and was a perfect three-for-three on extra point attempts, but none of those prior kicks came with the pressure of this one. On the snap, Abbotsford’s Daniel Davila and Ashton Hammel broke through the right side of Auburndale’s line and threw their hands up in an attempt to block the kick. But the ball passed by unscathed, sailing through the uprights as time expired, prompting a celebration from the home team and their crowd while leaving the Falcons on the wrong side of a 34-31 final.

While ultimately, the game came down to that final field goal, in the 48 minutes of game time that proceeded, there were a multitude of plays that, had they gone slightly differently, could have changed the entire outcome of the contest.

“We put ourselves in a position to win, but also did a lot of things to lose the game for ourselves,” head coach Jake Knapmiller said.

The Falcons offense certainly did its part through the first three quarters of the game. Abbotsford was almost unstoppable with the ball in their hands, scoring a touchdown on their first five possessions of the game and collecting over 366 yards of total offense. Headed into the fourth quarter, the Falcons found themselves up 31-24, due in large part to the success of the offense.

Running back Christian Fuentes only had eight carries, but he made the most of them. The sophomore racked up 123 yards and scored the first three touchdowns for the Falcons, including a 59-yard touchdown run that put Abbotsford up 18-13 in the second quarter. He also had one catch for 20 yards.

Quarterback JV Castillo added 76 yards on the ground and a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter and went 3-for-4 passing for 124 yards and a touchdown. On their final drive of the first half, he found tight end AJ Brodhagen burning past the defense along the sideline for the Falcons’ biggest play of the evening, a 70-yard connection that concluded with Brodhagen in the endzone.

Emilio Escalera also contributed 42 yards on just four carries and had a clutch fourth quarter catch and run for the Falcons that went for 33 yards.

And while the offense produced touchdowns, Abbotsford would struggle on the point-after attempts, a factor that would come to haunt them later. The Falcons were 0-for-4 on extra-point conversions in the first half, leaving a potential eight points on the table.

Miscues in the fourth quarter would also hurt the team’s chances. After Auburndale managed to tie the game at 31-31, the Falcons had two chances to score. The first opportunity, a possession kept alive by a roughing the kicker penalty on Auburndale, saw the Falcons driving from their own 25-yard line into the redzone. However, a fumble on a snap would give the ball back to Auburndale, killing Abbotsford’s best chance to score in the fourth. After the defense forced the Eagles to punt, the offense sputtered deep in their own territory, giving the ball back to Auburndale at midfield with just under a minute-and-a-half left to play.

“The glaring play was the turnover which was the biggest difference maker in a game between teams who are evenly matched,” Knapmiller said. “We left extra points on the board and we gave up over five third and long or fourth down conversions. They had four big plays over 20 yards, and they came at times when we knew they had to have one.”

Two of Auburndale’s scores came on fourth down and Abbotsford defense struggled at times to get off the field. A turnover on downs on the Eagles’ second possession, holding Auburndale to a field goal in the second, and forcing a punt late in the game were certainly highlights, but there were times where they were one play away from putting an end to a number of Eagles’ drives.

“We were pleased with the execution of our offense but our defense, which has been learning things all year, is not where it needs to be to be a great team,” Knapmiller said. “A lot of players still are doing some basic everyday things wrong that can lead to lapses in coverage or run fits. Auburndale made plays when they needed to, so credit to them and their quarterback. They were really confident and played that way.”

Davila led the Falcons defense in tackles, recording 14 on the evening. Irvin Aguilera added 10 more and Hammel had eight.

While Abbotsford could not quite hold on to spoil Auburndale’s undefeated season, the Falcons hope to build upon the experience.

“We have a great group of kids that, once they decide to lock in mentally in practice and games, will be really tough to beat,” Knapmiller added. “We are proud of the effort they put forth Friday though.The Marawood conference is unforgiving each week.”

Their next conference foe is in the form of the neighboring Colby Hornets, which the Falcons will be inviting to Abbotsford this Friday, Oct. 6. The Hornets are 6-1 on the season and are coming off a 35-0 shutout of the Marathon Red Raiders. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.