Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The annual Eagle Rock homecoming will be held on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31. The dance will be held the night before. There will be a football doubleheader, with the frosh/soph team kicking off against the Belmont Sentinels at 11:00 in the morning, with the varsity game to follow at 2:00 p.m. The Homecoming King and Queen, and their court, will be announced during the halftime festivities.
The varsity lost to Wilson 21-0 on Friday, Oct. 23 in a game played at Don Mengel Field. The loss dropped the team's recprd to 1-5 on the season. The Eagles' best scoring chance came in the second half when they lost a fumble at the Wilson 5-yard line.
The frosh/soph team lost to Wilson 22-6 the day before. After the Mules scored on a 64-yard run on the second play of the game by running back Rico Reyes, the Eagles responded with a drive of thier own which ended in a 30-yard run by sophomore quarterback Jordan Hayes. Hayes broke several tackles on the play, spinning and twisting his way like a washing machine through the Wilson defense. The Eagles went for a two point conversion that would have tied the game but it was unsucessful. The Mules scored another touchdown and two point conversion to go up 16-6. Hayes scored on another breath-taking run, but a block in the back penalty nullified the score, and the Eagles never threatened again. Wilson scored again in the fourth quarter.
Submitted by Steve Calhoun Asst. Athletic Director/Counselor
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Eagle Rock varsity football team will seek its first win in Northern League play this Friday October 23 against the Wilson Mules. The game will be played at Don Mengel Field and will kick off at 3:00.
The Eagles lost to Marshall 35-6 in the league opener for both teams on Friday October 16. Josh Dominguez scored the lone Eagle touchdown on a great grab of a pass from quarterback Juan Rodriguez. Josh was able to outjump the Marshall defender. come up with the ball, and then outrun another Barrister to the endzone.
About the only other good news for the Eagles is they won't see senior Marshall running back Preston Oliver anymore. Oliver, who is closing in on the Northern League career rushing record, scored five TD's and had more than 300 yards on the ground against the Eagles last year. Oliver scored twice in this game, and is now about 600 yards short of breaking the league rushing record.
Submitted by Steve Calhoun Asst. Athletic Director/Counselor
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Eagle Rock varsity football team opens Northern League play on Friday, October 16 with a game against the Marshall Barristers. The game will be played at Eagle Rock's Don Mengel Field and kickoff will be at 3:00.
The Eagles closed out their non league schedule with a 1-3 record. Their most recent game was a 42-0 loss to the Cathedral Phamtoms. The game was called with a little over 4:30 to go. The Eagles were playing the game short-handed, as several players were serving a one-game suspension. They are expected to be back in uniform for the Marshall game.
The Eagles will not have starting quarterback Cameron Lord back for the Marshall game, however. Cameron suffered an injury in the second game of the season. It is not certain how long he will be out of action. Junior Jacob Garcia and senior Juan Rodriguez have fill0ed in at quarterback for Lord, who was also the team's punter and place kicker.
"This will show huge character-- to the staff and players-- how we respond to this for the rest of the season," said first year coach Greg Pierce said of the injury to his starting quarterback. "We've got to improve defensively to keep the pressure off the offence," Pierce added..
Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Counselor
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Eagle Rock frosh/soph football team has a bye this week before they play Marshall in the Northern League opener for both teams on Thursday, October 15th. Kickoff will be at 3:00 at Don Mengel Field.
The Eagles will be coming off a heart-breaking loss they suffered to Cathedral High School on October 1st. Thje Eagles took a 3-0 lead into the fourth quarter, and took over on downs, after holding the Phantoms on a fourth and goal from the Eagle Rock five -yard line.. However, the Eagles fumbled it back, the Phantoms recovered, and this time scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to take the lead, 8-3. At this point the Eagles launched their best drive of the day, and had a first and goal at the Cathedral nine-yard line, in the game's final minutes. The Eagles couldn't advance the ball, however, and the Phantoms took over and scored a final TD on a long run.
Eagle Rock forced five turnovers but failed to capitalize, gaining only 120 yards of total offense and giving up three turnovers to the Phantoms. Their leading offensive player was QB Jordan Hayes who had 27 yards on ten carries, and added 46 passing yards as well. The defense was led by free safety Chris Nobles who had four tackles, one forced fumble, and two interceptions. Defensive end Joseph Lucey had five tackles and one tackle for a loss. The Eagles look to bounce back from their first loss and improve their record to 4-1 against the Marshall Barristers.
Submitted by Nick Jovanelly class of 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Eagle Rock Eagles 44 Bell Eagles 25
The frosh/soph football team will be gunning for its fourth consecutive win of the season on Thursday, Oct. 1 when it hosts the Cathedral Phantoms. Kickoff will be at 3:00 at Don Mengel Field. The Eagle Rock Frosh/Soph Football team defeated Bell on Thrusday September 24th in front of a home crowd at ERHS. ER was led by their stellar running game, gaining 307 rushing yards and scoring 7 TDS on the ground. The leaders for Eagle Rock were RB Alex "Cookie" Gonzalez and QB Jordan Hayes. Gonzalez had 164 yards on just 13 carries and Hayes had 70 yards on 6 carries. Each also had 3 TD's. Brian Camanayan added 74 rush yards and 1 TD of his own. Hayes also threw for 108 yards on 6 completions, finding leading wideout Chris Nobles 2 times for 52 yards. The Defense was solid as well, giving up only 1 touchdown. Leaders on the defense include LB's Alex Pineda and Gabriel Gazcon, who each had 5 tackles. Overall it was a great performance by a team that has a lot of potential.
Submitted by Nick Jovanelly Class of 2015 & Steve Calhoun Counselor/Asst. Athletic Director
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Eagle Rock varsity football team will seek its second straight win on Friday, Sept. 25 when they host the Bell High School Eagles on Don Mengel Field. Kickoff will be at 3:00.
Eagle Rock picked up its first win of the year by defeatin the Bernstein Dragons 34-17 on Sept. 18 in a game played at Don Mengel Field. "We got everybody in," said Coach Greg Pierce after the game. "The kids are real h appy because they got to play. It's like a Rudy-type deal when you can get everybody some playing time who's been practicing all week."
The Eagles took a 7-0 lead when senior quarterback Cameron Lord scored on a 1-yard touchdwon run. Lord added the extra point, and the Eagles were in front halfway through the first quarter. On the Eagles' next possession, Lord found wide receiver Josh Dominguez open for a 43-yard touchdown. Lord's PAT was good, and the Eagles led 14-0 with four minutes to go in the first quarter. Juan Rodriguez raced 37 yrads for a score with 10:18 to go in the first half. The kick was no good, so the Eagles led 20-0.
Eagle Rock scored a touchdwon on the final play of the half, but it was negated by a penalty.
Eswin Delgado returned the second half kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, and Rodriguez scored another TD on a 10-yard run with 3:43 to go in the thrid quarter. Bernsteing scored a couple of late toucdowns.
The frosh/soph team improved to 2-0 after a 41-0 win over Bernstein. Sophomore Gabriel Gascon scored two rushing touchdowns, Sophomore quarterback Jordan Hayes scored a TD on a run, as did running backs Duncan Lord, Alex Gonzalez and Brian Camonayan.
Submitted by Steve Calhoun Counselor/Asst. Athletic Director
Thursday, December 6, 2007
The Eagle Rock varsity football team begins defense of its back-to-back City Invitational championships with a first round game against the Huntington Park Spartans on Thursday 11/15. The game will kick off at 2:00 at Eagle Rock's Don Mengel Field. The Eagles finished the season 10-0, only the second undefeated season in the school's history (the other was the 1957 team). The Spartans finished the season 5-5.
The Eagles won their fourth straight Northern League championship with a dramatic 10-6 win over archrival Franklin on Friday 11/9 at Eagle Rock. The win is believed to be Eagle Rock's first against Franklin on Eagle Rock turf in the nearly 80 years of the rivalry. Many of Eagle Rock's home games were played at Occidental College, Glendale College and the Rose Bowl over the years, but it was no less historic. The win was also Eagle Rock's 22nd in a rowl.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Eagles managed to get on the board midway through the second quarter when senior quarterback Jelani Blunt started off on a run up the middle, bounced outside, and outran Franklin's defense for a 28-yard touchdown. Hassin Monroy's kick was good, and Eagle Rock led 7-0.
The score remained 7-0 at halftime, and through the third quarter. Then, with 3:30 left in the game, Franklin halfback Rene Gomez tossed a 29-yard scoring pass to Patrick Donahue on a halfback option pass.
Franklin lined up for the extra point that would tie the game. "I thought looking at films that we could block a kick," Eagle Rock coach Jerry Chou said after the game. The Eagles had their best three kick blockers on one side: Eric Manzanares, Sebastian Reyes, and Darwin Bacelis. Bacelis broke through and blocked the kick, preserving Eagle Rock's 7-6 lead.
"We had to block it," said Bacelis. "I was just able to get my arm up."
The Panthers then made the mistake of kicking off to Bacelis, and he returned it 49 yards to set the Eagles up for a Monroy field goal of 30 yards. The Eagles led 10-6 with 2:33 to go.
The Panthers drove the ball the length of the field and set up for their final play of the game on the Eagle Rock six-yard line. The play was a pass intended for receiver Patrick Donahue, who made a diving attempt for a game-winning catch. It appeared for one tantalizing second as if Donahue had the ball, but Eagle Rock's Jose Muro dove at about the same time, and was able to get his hand in to break up the pass, and set off a wild celebration on the field, as well as in the jammed pack Eagle Rock stands.
Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Counselor
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Eagle Rock varsity football team will close out its regular season Friday, Nov. 9 against the Franklin Panthers at Eagle Rock's Don Mengel Field. The Eagles will come in to the game with a perfect 9-0 record (4-0 in Northern League play) and a chance to win the league title, as well as possibly earn a top seed to defend their two City Inivitational Championships.
On Friday, Nov. 2, the Eagles started slowly but were able to put away the Wilson Mules 37-14. The Mules scored first, on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Steven Batista with just under eight minutes to go in the first quarter. The Mules intercepted a pass from Eagle Rock quarterback Jelani Blunt and started at the Eagle Rock 25-yard line. A few plays later, they cashed in and led 7-0.
The Eagles got on the board late in the second quarter, when Hassin Monroy connected on a 43-yard field goal. That seemed to get the Eagles going, and a little more than a minute and a half later, they took the lead when Blunt hit Andre Lyons for a 33-yard scoring pass. Then in the final minute of the first half, the Eagle defense pinned Wilson down deep in their own territory. Two incomplete passes helped stop the clock, and Wilson was forced to punt from the end zone. Sebastian Bowers had a nice return, setting up the Eagles with good field position. With 41 seconds left in the half, Blunt scored on a three-yard run to make it 17-7, Eagle Rock.
Blunt would throw two more TD passes in the third quarter. The first was an 18-yarder to Daniel Manzano, in which Manzano leapt over the Wilson defender to make a great catch. The other was a 69-yard screen pass to Patrick Sifuentes which came on a third down and 26. Blunt closed out the scoring with 9-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Counselor
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Eagle Rock Varsity football team will seek its school-record 21st straight win Friday afternoon Nov. 2 against the Wilson Mules. The Eagles are currently 8-0 (3-0 in Northern League play) and the only unbeaten team in the league. The game with Wilson will kick off at 3:00 at Eagle Rock's Don Mengel Field.
The Eagles came from behind to defeat the Marshall Barristers 28-15 on Oct. 26 at Marshall's Mike Haynes Field. Eagle Rock scored a quick touchdown when Marshall lost a fumble on its first possession of the game, and Patrick Sifuentes of Eagle Rock found it, and raced 35 yards for a touchdown. Hassin Monroy's kick was good, and it was 7-0 before most of Eagle Rock's fans had left for the game.
The Eagles made it 14-0 when senior quarterback Jelani Blunt dodged and ducked his way 56 yards for a touchdown. Monroy's kick was good and it was 14-0.
Marshall scored its first touchdown on a 18-yard pass from Omar Cervantes to Rodney Berry in the second quarter. The score was set up by a muffed punt deep in Eagle Rock territory that the Barristers recovered. After a penalty against Eagle Rock on the extra point, Marshall decided to go for two points, and Cervantes scored to cut Eagle Rock's lead to 14-8.
Then shortly before halftime, Cervantes and Berry hooked up again, this time for 41 yards, for a touchdown which tied the game. The extra point kick was good, and Marshall led 15-14. It was the first time this season Eagle Rock has trailed in a game.
They didn't trail for long. In the third quarter, quarterback Blunt led the Eagles on an 85-yard drive which he capped off with a 1-yard run for a touchdown midway through the quarter. A key play in the drive came on a third down play when junior running back Andrew Trejo swept to the left side and picked up the first down. Marshall was then penalized for a late hit on Trejo, giving the Eagles 15 more yards. Trejo was injured on the play and did not return.
On the Eagles next possession, Blunt hit Sebastian Bowers for a 29-yard scoring pass. Monroy's kick made the score 28-15. Bowers then delivered the knockout punch to the Barristers when he intercepted Cervantes' pass to Berry in the end zone with five minutes to go in the game.
The frosh/soph team defeated Marshall 7-0 on Thursday 10/25 at Marshall. It was the team's third straight win, and the Eagles are undefeated in Northern League play.
Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Counselor
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The Eagle Rock varsity football team travels to Marshall for a Friday afternoon game with the Barristers. The Eagles are currently 7-0 (2-0 in Northern League play). The Barristers are also undefeated in league play, so the winner will be in the driver's seat for the league championship.
The Eagles emerged victorious with a hard fought 14-6 win over the Lincoln Tigers Friday night October 19 in a game played at Lincoln. The Eagles wrapped touchdown runs by junior running back Andrew Trejo and senior quarterback Jelani Blunt around Lincoln's score, and held on for the win. The score was 7-6 at the half, and Blunt's run came midway through the second half.
There was a lot more scoring in the Homecoming game against Belmont on Oct. 12. The Eagles won that one 49-34 in a night game played at Eagle Rock's Don Mengel Field. Each time the Eagles seemed to have pulled away, the Sentinels would answer with a score to make the game interesting again.
A brief scoring synopsis: the Eagles got a touchdown run from Andrew Trejo, two TD passes from Jelani Blunt (one to Darwin Bacelis, the other to Taylor Child), a Blunt run, a Bacelis interception return for a TD, and a 75-yard kickoff return from Daniel Berber..
Curiously, in a game with so many offensive fireworks, the biggest play of the game came when the Eagle defense stopped Belmont on three plays inside the 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter.
Prior to the game, 23 members of the Eagle Rock 1957 team were honored. That team established the longest winning streak in the school's history (17 straight) which ironically enough, the current Eagle Rock team broke against Belmont that night.
Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Counselor
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
The Eagle Rock High School football team has a bye the week of October 5, and will open Northern League play against the Belmont Sentinels on Friday, October 12. That game will be Homecoming, and will be played at Occidental College. Kickoff will be 7:30.
The Eagles cruised through their non-league schedule with ease, compiling a 5-0 mark. Most recently, they crushed the La Canada Spartans by the score of 48-7 in a game played at La Canada Thursday night, September 27.
Junior running back Andrew Trejo had three long touchdown runs (and had a fourth called back because of a penalty) and ran for a total of 271 yards. This just missed breaking the school record of 284, set by John Paul Yniguez in 2002. John Paul is currently one of the coaches for the frosh/soph team.
The Eagles forced La Canada to go three and out in their first series. After a short punt by La Canada, the Eagles marched 55 yards on four plays. Darwin Bacelis scored on a four yard run to put the Eagles ahead 6-0. Bacelis also had a great game defensively, leading the team in tackles from his linebacker spot. Hassin Monroy's kick was good, and the Eagles had a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
After forcing the Spartans into another three and out, the Eagles scored in two plays. Junior quarterback Marcus Rodriguez, filling in for injured starter Jelani Blunt, connected with Brian Trujillo for an 80-yard TD. Monroy's kick made it 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
The Eagles added their third TD of the quarter when Trejo managed to weave his way through the La Canada defense for a 66-yard run. Monroy added the extra point to make it 21-0, with 1:40 left.
The Eagle defense held La Canada to its fourth straight series without a first down to start the second quarter. Then Rodriguez hooked up with Trujillo again for 56-yard TD. Monroy's kick made it 28-0. Just before halftime Darwin Bacelis ran a reverse play for 48 yards to give the Eagles a first-and-goal at the La Canada three-yard line. Rodriguez took it in for a TD two plays later. Monroy's kick was no good, and the Eagles led 34-0 at the half.
Trejo added a 70-yard run in the third quarter and a 69-yard run in the fourth to round out the scoring. La Canada managed to break through for a touchdown in the final minutes. Trejo finished with 271 yards in only 13 carries. Rodriguez completed 6-11 passes for 165 yards.
Submitted by Steve Calhoun, Counselor
Friday, December 8, 2006
As unlikely as it seems, the 2006 Eagle Rock football team managed to surpass the most successful season in school history by winning the City Invitational Championship on Dec. 8 by beating Garfield HS 21-17 at the L.A. Coliseum. Improbably, they won the championship as they did last year, with a come-from-behind touchdown late in the game. Impossibly, the winning touchdown was scored by Josh Jovanelly, who caught the game-winner against Marshall last year.
To set the stage: Garfield was ahead 17-14 with 3:32 to play. The Bulldogs had the ball and faced a fourth-and-one on their own 36-yard line. If they picked up a first down, the game was probably over. Fullback Steven Torres got the ball and went up and over the line. He apparently had the first down. But as Torres was in midflight, the ball was jarred loose, and popped in to the hands of Jovanelly, who didn't hesitate. He took off, made a fake or two and raced 41 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
"We knew from watching the film that they liked to go to him [Torres] in short yardage situations," head coach Jerry Chou said. "We told our guys 'He likes to go up and over, so you've got to get up there'"
"I had the feeling something good was going to happen down there" said Coach Steve Wahl. "I was thinking a bad snap on the punt, a block, or maybe a big return." Wahl admitted he was surprised Garfield went for the first down instead of punting it away. "Their defense had us bottled up all night," he said.
Truly, the Eagles prevailed because they were a little bit better all-around team: they scored one touchdown offensively, one defensively, and one on special teams. That's all they needed.
After Eagle Rock went three and out on its first series of the game, Garfield responded with an impressive drive that resulted in a 28-yard field goal by Sergio Farias. The drive ate up a lot of time, a Garfield specialty, and featured the running of Torres and Michael Aguilar. "They were the best running backs and O-line we saw all year," said Chou.
Garfield's lead was short-lived. On the ensuing kickoff, Jose Navarro moved up a few steps, caught the kick on the fly and took off for a 74-yard touchdown return. For Navarro it was his school-record ninth kickoff return for a TD. Hassin Monroy's PAT was good, and Eagle Rock led 7-3. That remained the score at halftime.
Garfield dominated the third quarter, as Eagle Rock was able to only run three plays. Garfield started the second half with one of its patented ball-control drives, taking 18 plays and 7 1/2 minutes off the clock. Jiovany Flores connected with Jiovany Bautista for a 12-yard touchdown pass in the back of the endzone, and Garfield took the lead 10-7.
In the fourth quarter the Bulldogs scored again, when the Eagles messed up an option play, and defensive end Juan Soto scooped up a fumble and ran it in for a 41-yard touchdown. The extra point was good, and Garfield had upped its lead to 17-7.
Garfield's defense lived up to its billing, shutting the Eagles down again, and the Bulldogs got the ball back looking for the decisive score, or at least the chance to run some more time off the clock. But Eagle Rock's defense rose to the occasion, and forced a punt.
All through the playoffs, the Eagles had run a play where Jovanelly handed the ball off to Navarro on the return. Navarro always got a huge return on the play, but the Eagles always seemed to pick up a penalty on the play. This time, Josh faked the handoff to Jose. The Bulldog special team, already having witnessed Navarro's speed, did not want to give up a second return TD, so they went with him...and watched Josh dart 35 yards to the Garfield 13-yard line. On the first play, running back V.J. Castanos eluded one Garfield tackler, ran over another, and scored a touchdown. Monroy's kick made it 17-14, Garfield, and the Eagle were still alive.
Garfield's next possession ended in the Torres fumble, and the Eagles were able to withstand the Bulldogs last charge, and ultimately run out the clock to win the City Invitational Championship for the second straight year.
-Football Insider
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
The Eagle Rock Varsity football team will make its second consecutive appearance in the Los Angeles City Invitational Championship game Friday 12/8 at the Coliseum. The Eagles will play the Garfield Bulldogs in a game that is set to kickoff at 4:00 p.m.
The Eagles qualified for the championship game by beating the Marshall Barristers 27-7 Friday night 12/1 in front of a huge crowd at Don Mengel Field. The Bulldogs advanced by beating #1 seed and undefeated Verdugo Hills 14-7 the same night.
For the Eagle defense it was another strong performance in what has been a season full of them. "Everyone is unselfish; that's the key," said Coach Jerry Chou, referring to the defensive players. "I tell them they're selfless, and that's the meaning of team. They each have a role, and they know that role." No team has scored more than once against the first team defense, and five teams failed to score at all.
In the semifinal game against the Barristers, the Eagles took an early 3-0 lead on Hassin Monroy's 34-yard field goal. They stretched that lead to 10-0 late in the first quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Frescas to Josh Jovanelly. The play came on a fourth-and-one play, and the pass was designed to pick up the first down. Josh had bigger things on his mind, however, and made a couple of quick moves to elude Marshall tacklers, then sped to the end zone.
Midway through the second quarter, Frescas made it 17-0 on a quarterback sneak. With 3:03 to go before halftime, Monroy booted a 42-yard field goal to pad the lead to 20-7. The kick was just short of the school record of 44 yards, which was set by Marco Valverde in 1996. Monroy would get his moment of glory later.
Marshall scored its only touchdown of the night a minute later on a 59-yard pass play from Stephen Richart to Lester Del Cid. P.J. Rodriguez' kick was good, and at halftime it was 20-7, Eagles.
The Eagles had a couple of scoring opportunities they let slip away in the third quarter. One was a fumble that Marshall recovered at their own 1-yard line, and the other was a fumble forced inside their 20 on a good play by Moses Gilchrist, whom Coach Chou said is the best player in the league. The Eagles did cash in on one other scoring opportunity, when running back V.J. Castanos scored on a 23-yard run. Monroy's extra point was his 46th of the season, which broke Brian Rodrigues' record, set last year. The Barristers never really threatened again.
-Football Insider
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
The Eagles will be meeting a familiar foe this Friday night at 7:00 p.m.in the semifinals at Don Mengel Field when they host Northern League rival Marshall. The Eagles (11-1) defeated the Barristers (10-2) 35-7 in a regular season game at Eagle Rock back in October. Of course it was against the Barristers last December that the Eagles won the City Invitational Championship at the Coliseum.
Familiarity did not do the Wilson Mules much good on Wednesday night, 11/23, when they played the Eagles at Don Mengel Field. The Eagles shut down the Mules 34-6 in the quarter-final game in a rematch of a Northern League game. Earlier in the season, Eagle Rock had shut out Wilson 21-0.
Damian Fuentes got the Eagles started off against Wilson when he returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown. For Damian, it was his record 9th interception of the season (he set the record last year, and tied it again this year, with 8). For Eagle Rock's defense, it was the 24th interception of the year, and the eighth returned for a touchdown. And the defense wasn't ready to rest just yet.
The Eagles scored on a short TD pass from Aaron Frescas to Josh Jovanelly on their next possession to up their lead to 13-0. On the play, Frescas tied Jeremy Camacho with 29 touchdown passes in a season. But on the play, Aaron suffered a mild concussion, and was forced to leave the game.
Wilson then connected on an 82-yard touchdown pass, which is the first the Eagles have given up since the first Marshall game. Jose Navarro managed to block the extra point attempt, so the Eagle lead was 13-6. Then Navarro does what he does best: outrun the opponent's kicking team. He returned the kickoff 76 yards for a score, and in 12 seconds, the Eagles were back on top 20-6. He later completed a special teams hat trick when he blocked a Wilson field goal attempt. At the half, Eagle Rock led 20-6.
Navarro scored on a 35-yard reverse in the third quarter to make it 27-6, and then Darwin Bacelis returned an interception 52 yards for a touchdown later in the quarter to close out the scoring. For Darwin, it was his third defensive TD of the season.
With Frescas out, the Eagles relied on their running game, and running back V.J. Castanos was ready, responding with 119 yards in 22 carries.
-Football Insider
Friday, November 17, 2006
The Eagle Rock Varsity football team will play the Wilson Mules in a quarterfinal playoff game Wednesday night 11/22 at 7:00 p.m. at Eagle Rock's Don Mengel Field. The game is a rematch for the Northern League foes: Eagle Rock defeated Wilson 21-0 on Oct. 27 at Wilson. Presale tickets will be sold for $6, and will be sold at the gate the night of the game for $8.
The Eagles overwhelmed the Bell High School Eagles 48-3 in a first round playoff game at the Rock on 11/16. Everything the Eagle Rock offense did worked, and the defense, despite giving up its first points after five straight shutouts, surrendered less than 100 yards total offense.
Eagle Rock wasted no time getting started, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Aaron Frescas to Josh Jovanelly for 23 yards midway through the first quarter. It would be a big day for the senior quarterback, as he completed 9-12 passes for 188 yards, with three touchdowns. The kick was no good, so Eagle Rock led 6-0.
Bell answered with its only real drive of the day, and scored on a 38-yard field goal by Patrick Rodriguez to cut the lead to 6-3.
Eagle Rock responded immediately on its next possession, when Frescas found Damian Fuentes wide open, and Damian sped 70 yards for a TD. Monroy's kick made it 13-3 with a minute to go in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Frescas scored on a nifty bootleg run of 14 yards, and running back V.J. Castanos scored on a 10-yard run. Monroy's kicks were perfect, and at halftime, Eagle Rock led 27-3.
V.J. scored again on the first possession of the third quarter to make it 34-3, and then Frescas and Jovanelly teamed up again on a 42-yard scoring strike. Sophomore running back Andrew Trejo closed out the scoring on a 10-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.
Defensively for the Eagles, linebacker Darwin Bacelis led the team with nine tackles, while Yardley Vergara, Adam Salcedo and Josh Deware were close behind. Damian Fuentes interecepted a Bell pass in the second half and returned it 50 yards to set up an Eagle score. For Damian it was his eighth of the year, which ties his school record for a season, and added to his career-record 16. Damian led the City Section in interceptions last year.
-Football Insider
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The Eagles varsity football team will open the defense of its Los Angeles City Invitational championship this Thursday afternoon. The first playoff game will be against the Bell High School Eagles, and kickoff will be 2:00 at Don Mengel Field. The Eagles (9-1) are the second seed in the bracket, and will play at home for as long as they keep winning. The top seed is Verdugo Hills, which finished the regular season 10-0.
The Eagles closed out the regular season with a hard-fought 8-0 win last Thursday night over archrival Franklin. The win enabled Eagle Rock to win its first outright Northern League championship since 1992, and third overall in the last three years. The shutout against Franklin was the Eagles' first over the Panthers since 1961.
The Eagles defense turned in its fifth straight shutout of the season against the Panthers, and like most of the teams in that streak, the Panthers never really came close to scoring.
Franklin played a great defensive game as well, as they were able to contain Eagle Rock's pair of All City receivers, Jose Navarro and Josh Jovanelly. However, they lost track of receiver Patrick Allen early in the second quarter, and quarterback Aaron Frescas made them pay dearly for it. Frescas hit Allen for an 11-yard touchdown, and the Eagles had an early lead at 6-0. The PAT attempt was stifled.
On the Panthers next possession, they went backwards against the stubborn Eagle defense and were forced to punt from their own endzone. Linebacker Darwin Bacelis (who had a team-high 10 tackles) broke through to block it, and while a Panther recovered, it was a safety for Eagle Rock. That made it 8-0, and that was all the scoring for the night. Damian Fuentes, who earlier this season became the career interception leader for Eagle Rock, picked off another one to turn back one of the only scoring threats of the night for the Panthers.
Junior punter Jelani Blunt had a great night for the Eagles. None of his four punts was returned for yardage by Franklin. His last punt of the night came in the fourth quarter from the Eagle Rock endzone, and was so high the Franklin returner had to call for a fair catch at midfield. That was the last gasp for Franklin.
-Football Insider
Monday, November 13, 2006
The Eagles; frosh/soph football team has concluded its season with a record of 8-1-1. The Eagles' final game was a 42-12 win over the Franklin Panthers on Thursday 11/9. It was the third straight win for the frosh/soph team against Franklin.
Coached by Robert Brown, a former star linebacker at Eagle Rock, the frosh/soph team consistently showed off a variety of weapons offensively, and this combined with a stingy defense, was the key to their successful season.
Against the Panters, the Eagles got on the scoreboard early, when quarterback Jason Juarez hit wide receiver Pedro Flores for a 20-yard touchdown pass. On the Eagles' next possession, Jason connected with his other favorite receiver, Bryan Trujillo, for a long touchdown. After Edwin Real's PAT, the Eagles had stretched their lead to 14-0.
The Eagles went up 21-0 shortly afterwards on a Sebastian Bowers run. The Eagles were threatening again before halftime when a Panther defender came up with a fumble and raced 90 yards for a TD. The kick was missed, so the Eagles led 21-6 at the half.
In the second half, Juarez and Trujillo combined for another TD pass, Juarez scored on a quarterback sneak, and then Andrew Portier caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Juarez to put the Eagles up 42-6. The Panthers scored late against the reserves.
The frosh/soph team had a great year, and was only a play or two away from being undefeated. They lost to Lincoln 40-39 on the final play of the game, and played a scoreless tie against Belmont. Other than that, they dominated every game in which they played.
-Football Insider
Monday, November 6, 2006
The Eagles close out their regular season Thursday night at 7:00 at Panther Field against Franklin. The Eagles come in 8-1 overall, and 6-0 in Northern League play. The game, as always, is expected to draw a huge crowd, so plan on arriving early and car-pooling if at all possible.
Last year the Panthers won a thriller at Eagle Rock's Don Mengel Field 21-15. The year before, Paul Zuber's field goal as time expired gave the Eagles the points they needed to beat the Panthers 24-21 and end Franklin's long winning streak the Rock.
Last Friday, the Eagles concluded their regular season at home with a 27-0 win over the Los Angeles High Romans. For the Eagles defense, it was the fourth consecutive shutout. Head coach Jerry Chou has been pleased with his team's play.
"The kids are playing hard, and they understand our defensive philosophy," he said recently. "They are spilling everything to the outside and swarming to the ball. It also helps to have guys like Damian Fuentes, Josh Jovanelly and Sammy Rafael in the secondary, who have all put in four years in our program. Josh Deware has put in four years, Adam Villanueva and Michael Pacheco have put in four years." This experience has resulted in what has been one of the best defensive teams Eagle Rock has had in many years.
The Eagles took control immediately against L.A., scoring on the first minute of the game and were never really being threatened.
Aaron Frescas hit Jose Navarro for a 76-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game and after Hassin Monroy's kick was good, the Eagles led 7-0. For Navarro it was his 29th career receiving touchdown, which broke the school record Jose shared with Jorge Trejo (1998-2000).
Later in the quarter, Monroy connected on a 26-yard field goal to up Eagle Rock's lead to 10-0. Midway through the second quarter Frescas and Josh Jovanelly hooked up for a 27-yard TD, and then they did it again for nine yards with 1:31 to go in the first half.
The only scoring in the second half was Monroy's 29-yard field goal.
The Romans did not come close to scoring until their final possession of the game when they drove to the Eagle Rock 20 and faced a third and nine. At that point Yardley Vergara raced in and sacked the L.A. quarterback for a 10-yard loss, effectively eliminating the L.A. scoring threat.
-Football Insider
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
The Eagles will be hosting their final regular season home game this Friday afternoon at 2:30 against the Los Angeles High Romans. The Eagles are 7-1 overall this season, and a perfect 5-0 in Northern League play.
Last Friday night at Wilson, the Eagles defeated the Mules 21-0. The Mules came in to the game undefeated in league play as well, but the Eagles took control immediately, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aaron Frescas to wide receiver Josh Jovanelly on the first possession of the game. On Wilson's next possession, Josh made an interception to set up the second touchdown. This one came on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Frescas to Damian Fuentes.
Damian is another two-way star for the Eagles, and with his interception later in the game he became the school's all time leader in interceptions with 14. The Eagles closed out the scoring with a 44-yard pass from Frescas to Jovanelly. It was another record- setting night for the senior wide receiver. Josh became the first Eagle Rock receiver to gain 2,000 yards in a season. Last week in the Lincoln game, he passed Jorge Trejo as the school's all-time receiver. Running back V.J. Castanos had over 100 yards in his best game of the year.
For the defense it was the second straight shutout.
-Football Insider
Monday, October 30, 2006
The Eagles frosh/soph football team plays its final home game of the year this Thursday afternoon at 2:30 against the Los Angeles High Romans.
The Eagles upped their record to 6-1-1 with a 27-16 win over the Wilson Mules last Friday night at Wilson. The star of the game for coach Robert Brown's team was Juan Rodriguez, who scored three touchdowns. One came on a kickoff, one on a punt return and the other came on a run. Another versatile performer for the Eagles was Pedro Flores. Pedro ordinarily is one of the Eagles' top receivers, as well as the punter and kickoff man. Against the Mules he played the whole game at quarterback.
-Football Insider
Monday, October 30, 2006
The Eagles and Wilson Mules will be fighting for first place in the Northern League when they meet at Wilson this Friday night. Both teams are undefeated in Northern League play.
Eagle Rock upped its record to 6-1 with a 36-0 homecoming win over the Lincoln Tigers Friday night at Don Mengel Field. It was the first regular season night game in Eagle Rock history. Among the highlights for Eagle Rock was wide receiver Josh Jovanelly setting the school record for receiving yards, which had been held by Jorge Trejo (1998-2000). Josh came in to the game needing only 17 yards to break the record, and he did it on his second catch of the night, which came in the first quarter.
The offense moved the ball consistently all night, and the defense held the Tigers in check. Lincoln's only drive of the game came on their final possession, and that stalled inside the Eagle Rock 20-yard line.
Before the game, 24 members of Eagle Rock's 1956 team were honored. The '56 team is the only undefeated football team in the school's history. Ron Jorgenson, one of the captains of that team, also was the Grand Marshal of the homecoming parade.
-Football Insider
Monday, October 23, 2006
The frosh/soph football team (5-1-1) will be looking to get back on the winning track this Friday night against the Wilson Mules. The game will be played at Wilson High School at 4:00 p.m.
The Eagles, under first year head coach Robert Brown (ERHS Class of '03) started the season by winning its first five games in a row. Then came a scoreless tie against Belmont, and then last week a 40-39 loss to Lincoln on the last play of the game.
The Lincoln game was full of offensive fireworks by both teams, and there were plenty of heroes on both teams. For Eagle Rock and its talented offense, quarterback Jayson Juarez threw touchdown passes to Brian Trujillo and Pedro Flores, offensive lineman Sebastian Reyes scooped up a fumble for another touchdown, and fullback Anthony Molina scored a pair of TDs. When Molina scored his second, with 27 seconds left, it looked like the Eagles had secured the win. But Lincoln, behind QB Jesse Roman, came back after a big kickoff return to score on a short pass to win on the last play in a tremendously exciting contest.
