The Dons seem to be in top playing shape for league play after defeating the Eastlake Titans 26-7 on the road. The Titans were undefeated and ranked 15th in the state of California coming into the match up. The Dons defense and special teams, along with the help of some opportune plays on offense, came up with a dominating performance and made it difficult for the Titans to do just about anything.
The Dons defense obviously spent a lot of time this week working on their run defense, and for good reason. Last week in their 25-7 win over Steele Canyon, Eastlake had over 300 yards on the ground, including three touchdowns. This week against the Dons, Eastlake had problems getting the ball moving at all. The Dons front seven roughed up their men on the offensive line all night long.
Unluckily for the Dons, the Titans defense came out with the same kind of aggression and forced them to punt on every possession in the first quarter. The first quarter played out this way for both teams, making for a scoreless first twelve minutes.
On the Dons’ first possession of the 2nd quarter, junior quarterback Garrett Bogart found wide-open senior running back JJ Stavola for a 70 yard pass. The pass set up a touchdown run for Stavola from the half-yard line to make it 7-0 Dons.
On Eastlake’s next offensive possession, they seemed to be starting to settle into a groove. They drove all the way inside the Cathedral five yard line where the ball was handed off to senior running back Jude Isbell. Isbell fumbled the ball on the goal line, and it was recovered by the Dons; Isbell had had some ball control issues earlier in the game, but never lost the ball before this possession.
On the Titan’s first drive of the 2nd half, they were forced to punt it away. The punt was blocked, however, by senior defensive lineman Jake Terzoli. The ball was almost recovered by the Dons for a touchdown; but instead, it rolled out the back of the end zone for a safety, giving the Dons a 9-0 lead.
Frustration began to set in for the Titans after their next punt was again blocked. This one was recovered by the Dons inside the Eastlake 20 yard line. The great field position set up another Cathedral score by sophomore running back Chris Moliga from four yards out to make it 16-0 Dons.
In a game that was full of positives for the Dons, junior quarterback Garrett Bogart had a very quiet day, throwing for just over 100 yards on four completions. His only touchdown came from a 43-yard strike where he found senior wide receiver Brian Heinz in stride for the score to make it 23-0 Dons.
The Dons defense all but sealed the game with an interception from senior linebacker Russell Reeder inside the Titans’ 30 yard line. The turnover set up a 28 yard field goal for junior kicker Christian Fanning to make it 26-0 Dons.
The Titans did avoid a shutout however; with just under five minutes to go in the game, sophomore running back Isiah Olave, who also had an interception earlier in this game, ran it in from five yards out to make it 26-7 Dons.
Eastlake came into this game ranked 15th in the state and number one in San Diego. In their first game of the year, on the road, they scored a 21-14 win against Helix, a team that dismantled the Dons in their match up. But the Dons were not intimidated; they came into this game as complete under dogs and made a statement in their final non-league game of the year.
The Eastlake Titans fall to 4-1 after an undefeated first four games. They play the Dons heated rivals the Saints from St. Augustine’s at home next week. The Dons improve to 4-1 on the year and will have a bye next week before their first league game of the year on October 14th when they face Patrick Henry at home.