ELDORADO, TX — The Eldorado Eagles fought beak and all against a 20-point deficit and emerged victorious in their district opener against the Iraan Braves, 45-42.
Friday night kicked off district play for many teams not only in the Concho Valley but Texas. For the Eldorado Eagles, they had a tough test against the then-4-1 Iraan Braves.
The Eagles kicked off to Iraan, who marched down the field with relative ease and capped off their first drive with an 11-yard touchdown by Daniel Reyes. They added two points on the conversion attempt, and the Eagles found themselves in an 8-0 hole with 9:32 left in the first quarter.
On the first drive for the Eagles, Iraan’s Cristian Buitron stepped in front of a JonnieRae Adame pass, and the Braves took over possession. They went down the field again and this time, quarterback Prather Schneemann scrambled in for a 3-yard score. This time they couldn’t get the two-point try across the goal line, so their lead was 14-0 and showed no signs of stopping.
That is until the Braves next drive where Schneemann was picked off in the end zone by Eldorado’s Amare Luna. The Eagles ensuing possession took the game to the end of the first quarter.
The ball ended up back in the hands of the Braves, and Schneemann found Buitron after picking the snap up off the ground. The midfield shot and score extended Iraan’s lead to 20-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining until the intermission.
The Eagles found momentum on the kickoff when Brindon Gamez returned the ball for a touchdown to get Eldorado on the board. The Eagles cut the lead to 13 points, 20-7.
Iraan wasn’t done yet as Alex Reyes got himself a touchdown shortly after Gamez’s return, but the Eagles again stood up on the two-point conversion and the Braves only got six. Still, with 8:17 left in the half, Iraan was leading Eldorado, 26-7.
Less than a minute after Reyes' score, Adame found Gamez on a deep pass for a TD, Gamez’s second of the night. Now, the Eagles still trail, but the score is 26-14 with 7:37 left in the second quarter. After getting the ball back, Kane Brock bulldozed his way in for a score with 4:01 left in the second. After being down 20 points, the Eagles are soaring and trail by five, 26-21.
Disaster struck for the Braves on the kickoff as Jett Brock recovered the fumble on a slobber knocker of a hit. On the drive, the Eagles did good by Brock, and Adame scored on a quarterback keeper. That 20-point lead is a thing of the past and the Eldorado Eagles now lead Iraan, 27-26, with 2:34 until the break.
With under 30 seconds, the Braves scored again, this time by Aiden Mendoza and they converted the two-point play and retook the lead. But the once lopsided game is an all-out war going into halftime with the Braves only leading 34-27.
Eldorado would score with 7:49 remaining in the third quarter, but Iraan would still lead, 34-33. With nine seconds until the fourth quarter, the Eagles would score again and get out in front, 39-34.
In the fourth, Iraan would continue the slugfest and score again, now leading Eldorado, 42-39. With time running out, Eldorado scored the game-winning touchdown with 2:42 left in the game and hung on for a 45-42 win.
Winning is hard and overcoming a 20-point deficit is very difficult, but the Eagles did it in dramatic fashion. Not only did Eldorado win, but they did so with a somewhat young team. As for Iraan, they have a talented quarterback in Schneemann who has made plays for them since he was a freshman. Speaking of freshmen, the Braves have a few that have made an impact for them all season long.
The Eldorado Eagles (3-3, 1-0) return to the field on Oct. 17, when they travel to take on the Sterling City Eagles (1-5, 1-0).
Iraan (4-2, 0-1) get a home game against the Wink Wildcats (4-2, 1-0) on Thursday, Oct. 16.
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