Conqs can't keep pace with Eagles in LPL tilt

The Cabrillo Conquistadores knew they had to keep the punishing Templeton offense off the field. And they took the opening drive 12 plays for 58 yards while taking 5:44 off the clock.

Unfortunately, they came up empty on a missed field goal, then watched the Eagles go 80-yards on three plays to open up an early 7-0 lead. Cody Smith had a 70-yard run on second down and Andrew Schechter scored from three on the next play.

Templeton (6-3, 3-3 LPL) defeated Cabrillo 36-21 in a must win Los Padres League game played at Huyck Stadium on Friday night.

On the next Cabrillo possession, the Conqs (2-7, 1-6 LPL) went three and out and Templeton's Dan Koenig blocked a Justin Ellenbrook punt. The ball was recovered on the Cabrillo one. On first down Smith went in for the score. Cabrillo fell behind 13-0 in a span of 2:19.

Cabrillo took the ensuing kickoff and ran out the last 3:45 of the first quarter on eight plays. On the second play of the second quarter, with a fourth and nine from the Eagles 34, Sean Allen found Brandon Whittaker for a 34-yard touchdown pass.

The Templeton coach in the booth called the play perfectly when he said the defender played the pass exactly as he should, until Whittaker broke free at the five and caught the ball in the end zone.

The Eagles struck back quickly with an eight play drive that took just 2:29 off the clock. Casey Bogart scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak. He hit his brother Tyler for the 2-point conversion.

They scored again with 55 seconds remaining in the half on a Bogart double feature, Casey to Tyler for a five yard TD pass.

Cabrillo was killed twice from punt formation. In the first half with Koenig's block and again in the third quarter. After Kris Dearie scored on a 14-yard run with 6:53 remaining in the third, Koenig did it again. On a fourth and 11 at the Cabrillo 16, Ellenbrook stepped back to punt and Koenig came in untouched from the far side and blocked a kick for the second time. The ball rolled through the end zone for a safety.

“We work special teams every single day,” lamented Cabrillo head coach Don Cross. “So it's even more frustrating. It's just one of the parts of football - offense, defense, special teams, but it didn't show tonight.”

The Conqs did come alive with two touchdowns in the fourth. A one-yard TD run by Bennie Garrett and a 16-yard scamper by Whittaker, made the score respectible.

“They don't quit, they're winners,” Cross said. “I told them on the board before the game, don't worry about winning or losing - just be winners and they are. They're gonna come and bring everything they got.”

More importantly, the last quarter rally gave Cabrillo a little momentum going into next week's Big Game against Lompoc.

“We wanted to try and get some momentum going into the Big Game,” Cross explained. “I think we played well enough that the kids will have some confidence.”

“We're going to see a similar offense,” he continued. “We're gonna see a great back in (Bobby) Collins and a running quarterback in (Daryl) Aguilar. So it's gonna be similar to what we saw tonight.”

Sean Allen threw a bit more than he usually does for the Conqs, completing 8-of-17 for 112 yards. including the TD pass to Whittaker. Bennie Garrett, held to 35 yards in the first half, busted free for 88 yards on seven carries in the second. He ended the night with 123 yards on 18 carries.

Templeton was led on the ground by Cody Smith's 102 yards on 15 runs, while Casey Bogart ran five times for 46. The Eagles had 303 yards in total offense to Cabrillo's 259.

Templeton will end LPL play with a road game at Santa Maria next Friday, while Cabrillo hosts Lompoc in the annual Big Game.

November 3, 2007