Eagles lose close Homecoming battle

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  • Como-Pickton’s Koby Perez brings down Prairiland’s running back in Friday’s 34-14 Homecoming loss. The Eagles trailed just 20-14 and had the ball early in the fourth quarter, but were unable to pull off their comeback win. Staff photo by Todd Kleiboer
    Como-Pickton’s Koby Perez brings down Prairiland’s running back in Friday’s 34-14 Homecoming loss. The Eagles trailed just 20-14 and had the ball early in the fourth quarter, but were unable to pull off their comeback win. Staff photo by Todd Kleiboer
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Villa leads with 86 yards

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COMO-PICKTON- The Como-Pickton Eagles hosted Prairland Friday for their Homecoming game. With a record of 1-1 to open the year, the Eagles were looking to pick up a win in front of their home crowd to get over the .500 mark.

The game opened up with a defensive battle, as neither team put points on the board in the opening quarter. Como-Pickton’s only drive of the first quarter was a long one that saw them march into the red zone, before turning the ball over on downs.

Prairiland found the end zone for the first time on the opening play of the second quarter. The Eagles answered back immediately with a strong drive of their own.

Running back Carlos Perez opened the drive with a huge run, getting the ball all the way inside the five-yard line. Quarterback Kevin Hernandez was able to sneak it in later in the drive. The Eagles also completed the 2-point attempt, taking an 8-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Como-Pickton wasn’t able to hold on to their lead for long, however, as Prairland matched them on their following drive. The drive included a pair of first downs, and a 21- yard touchdown rush on a fourth and seven, pushing their lead to 14-8 before the half.

Trailing by a score, Como-Pickton made a bold move to start the second half. They went for the onside kick and were able to recover it, giving themselves both the ball and a ton of momentum.

Starting on their own 49-yard line, the Eagles put together a drive that was capped off with a 28- yard rushing touchdown from Perez. The 2-point try was no good and the game was tied at 14-14 early in the third quarter.

The Eagles doubled-down on their aggressive play calling, once again going for the onside kick and once again recovering it. Finding themselves in a fourth and three situation, the Eagles went for it but came up short, turning the ball over on downs. Neither team scored again in the quarter, and the score was tied 14-14 heading into the fourth.

On the opening play of the fourth quarter Prairiland found the end zone. The PAT was no good, and the Eagles got the ball back trialing by just six points.

Como-Pickton started their next drive on their own 23-yard line, looking to put together a strong drive and take the lead. After a pair of short runs, the Eagles went for a fullback dive on third and five. Unable to pick up the first down, Como-Pickton decided to punt as they were still in their own territory.

Prairiland put together a strong drive that resulting in a touchdown, pushing their lead to 28-14. They were able to add another score late, winning the game by a final score of 34-14.

Despite the end result being a 20-point loss, the Eagles had the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game up or even take the lead. Avelrado Villa led the Eagles offensively, picking up 86 rushing yards on 17 attempts, averaging over five yards per rush.

Just behind him was Perez who had an impressive 85-yard game on just nine tries. He also had one of the two rushing touchdowns in the game. Ulyses Garza also had 33 rushing yards on his three carries.

Defensively it was Cash Wilton who led the way with an impressive 16-tackle game. Tucker Rutledge also finished in double-digits with 10 tackles. Christian Gilbreath had the only takeaway of the game for Como-Pickton, when he recovered a fumble.

The loss drops the Eagles record to 1-2 to open the year. The will look to get back to the .500 mark with their final preseason game of the year this week, in a road match against Tom Bean. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday at Trenton High School.