Falcons fall short in upset bid against Coleman
By Nathaniel Underwood
Two yards and a few seconds were all that separated the Abbotsford Falcons from an upset over the first-seeded Coleman Cougars last Friday night.
After a lengthy, grind-it-out contest, the visiting four-seed Abbotsford squad found themselves down 7-6, but had managed to work almost 90 yards down the field in the game’s final six minutes. Big plays, including a fourth-down pass from running back Chrisitan Fuentes to tight end AJ Brodhagen on a broken play that kept the drive alive, helped the visiting Falcons work down the field in methodical fashion, moving inside their opponent’s 10yard line. A penalty on the Cougars gave Abbotsford a first down on the two-yard line, but with only 6.7 seconds left, the Falcons would likely have only two plays left.
Trying to catch Coleman off guard and hopefully preserve some time for a potential field goal attempt, the Falcons turned to the air. While quarterback Irvin Aguilera found a wide open Chase Boller in the end zone for the would-be go-ahead touchdown, a delayed false start penalty on Abbotsford blew the play dead and moved the Falcons back five yards.
Being further away from the end zone and not wanting to risk time running out, Abbotsford opted to trot out the field goal unit. Kicker Fernando Perez appeared to knock the attempt through the uprights, but another false start on the Falcons nullified the play and backed up the visitors once more. Abbotsford could not convert on the second field goal attempt and the Cougars held on for a 7-6 victory.
“We haven't had a situation all season like we had at the end of the game but we go through the scenario of needing to score when up against a short clock,” head coach Jake Knapmiller said. “I thought our kids handled themselves very well and had one heck of a drive to put ourselves in a position to win.”
“Dead ball penalties have hurt us a lot at the end of the year,” he added. “I still don't understand what was causing the early offensive movement and there are a few of them that I think were maybe tough calls that were based off of something the side judge thought he saw. I think as a group it's just being focused and consistent and being disciplined with everything we do.”
While the Falcons ultimately fell, they still put together one of their best performances of the season. Abbotsford outgained the Cougars by over 100 yards on offense, picking up 270 yards while holding a vaunted Coleman rushing attack to just over 150 yards rushing and only 12 through the air.
“Overall our defense held the top rushing team in the state to less than 200 yards of total offense and seven points,” head coach Jake Knapmiller said. “This was by far our best defensive game. This is our second year in the system with defensive coordinator Garrett Rau. Last year, we had a huge learning curve and struggled with new concepts and this year we played so much faster and more confident.”
Two red zone stops from the Abbotsford defense highlighted their first half performance. While Coleman was able to drive inside the Falcons’ 20-yard line on their opening drive, Emilio Escalera came up with a key tackle on Cougars quarterback Micah Kuchta as he broke out of the pocket on a fourth down play, turning the ball back over to Abbotsford.
When the Falcons weren’t able to convert on a fourth-and-short fake punt play, Coleman took over at Abbotsford’s 24yard line. The defense held again, however, as AJ Brodhagen came up with a tackle behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-one at the four yard line.
Abbotsford took over at their own five yard line and embarked on a 10 minute, 95-yard drive. A steady diet of runs from Aguilera and Fuentes allowed the Falcons to continue to move the chains. They went 3-for-3 on third down to open the drive and looked to convert on a fourth as they drove deep into Cougars’ territory. However, a holding penalty on the play pushed Abbotsford back and they were only able
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TRUCKING THROUGH DEFENDERS - Christian Fuentes breaks through a pair of tackles during one of his 17 carries on Friday night. The junior running back co-led the team with 89 yards rushing and also completed a pass for a touchdown in the loss.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
PICKING UP KEY YARDS - AJ Brodhagen tries to shake a Cougars tackler on one of his two receptions in the Falcons’ Level 2 playoff game. He also had the team’s only touchdown, coming down with the 24-yard catch on fourth and long.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Falcons football
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to pick up two yards on the subsequent play, leading to a fourth-and-14 situation.
With the clock running under a minute left in the half and facing a long fourth down, the Falcons decided to change things up. Aguilera handed the ball off to Fuentes, but instead of running the ball, the Abbotsford back instead unleashed a pass downfield for Brodhagen, the only receiver on a route. Facing one-on-one coverage, Brodhagen beat his defender on a jump ball at the goal line to put the Falcons up 6-0.
The lengthy drive did not give Coleman an opportunity to respond and the Cougars only ran four plays in the second quarter.
However, the home team received the opening kickoff of the second half and Coleman was able to put together a timeconsuming touchdown drive of their own. Starting at their own 35-yard line, the Cougars took 10 minutes to go 65 yards and score on an eight-yard pass from Kuchta to Kolton Peters. Coleman converted on their extra point attempt, an important play that put them ahead 7-6.
The Falcons were able to move the ball on their next possession, driving into Coleman territory on a long run by Fuentes on a sweep. A penalty on the next play put Abbotsford behind the chains and, on a fourth-and-one, the Falcons once again turned to Fuentes on the outside. This time, the Cougars were able to corral him and stopped Abbotsford short of the line of gain, resulting in a crucial turnover on downs.
After giving up a first down on the ensuing possession, the Falcons defense came up with a key stop. Irvin Davila was able to sniff out a reverse for a big tackle for loss on second down and Coleman was eventually forced to punt.
The Falcons’ final drive featured a pair of fourth down conversions on the first two sets of downs. The second featured another connection between Fuentes and Brodhagen, though this one was not quite as planned as the first. Facing fourth-andfive, the Falcons tried to get Fuentes around the left edge, but Coleman instantly recognized the play and collapsed on the Abbotsford back. Hit by two defenders five yards behind the line of scrimmage, Fuentes somehow managed to keep his feet before escaping the grasp of a third Cougar and reversing field. Still, there was little chance that he would be able to reach the first down marker with his feet, so the junior improvised once more and fired a throw down to Brodhagen, who made a diving grab for a first down.
Aguilera converted another fourth down later in the drive and also picked up two more first downs as the Falcons continued their advance. Time began to be an issue as the Falcons pushed inside the Coleman 10-yard line and, while they were able to get down to the two, penalties and the shrinking clock eventually forced them into their final field goal attempt.
Fuentes and Aguilera posted identical stat lines as the Falcons’ two main rushers, both gaining 89 yards on 17 carries. Boller added 30 yards on eight touches, Jesus Reyes had nine yards, Brodhagen had four yards and Emilio Escalera ended the game with two yards.
Aguilera went 2-for-6 passing for 14 yards while Fuentes was 2-for-2 for 33 yards and a touchdown. Fuentes caught both of Aguilera’s passes and Brodhagen was the recipient of both of Fuentes’s throws.
“We put ourselves in a lot of second and long situations because of penalties,” Knapmiller noted of the offense. “But, I believe we averaged over five yards a carry on the ground versus the best run defense we have played in a while.”
Davila led the team with 11 tackles, Andres Lopez and Grayson Totzke both ended the game with seven apiece and Aguilera, Fuentes and Dan Davila were in on five tackles each.
The Falcons finished 8-3 overall, going 7-2 in the regular season and taking third in the new Marawood/CWC-Small conference.
“I think this group of kids maybe had the most overall talent we have had,” Knapmiller said. “At times we underperformed through the year but by the end of the season we were playing our best football. When you can go toe to toe with Edgar, Auburndale and Coleman and are competitive, it means you are in a good spot. We hopefully can use this momentum and, with a couple extra weeks with our returning players, [we can] come out swinging again next season and push for more.”
RALLY TACKLE - Irvin Davila and Christian Fuentes team up to bring down Coleman running back West Bieber for a short gain during the Cougars long touchdown drive in the third quarter.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
SLICING PAST THE DEFENSE - Irvin Aguilera darts past Coleman defenders during the Friday night playoff matchup against the Cougars. Aguilera had 89 yards on the ground to co-lead the team in rushing.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
