Eagles grounded at homecoming
The scoreboard may have reflected a dreaded 44-8 loss to rival Moapa Valley on Oct. 3, but the optimism surrounding the Boulder City High School football team is much brighter heading into this week.
“We played our worst game of the season and got beat by the best team in the south,” head coach Bubba Mariani said. “There have been previous years where we played our best and still suffered the same defeat. When we went back and watched film, it really wasn’t as bad as the score suggested. A few adjustments and a little more focus, and I believe we could be in the ball game.”
Hoping the lopsided defeat serves as a wake-up call, Mariani called the loss timely, shaking up an Eagles three-game winning streak that had been laden with errors.
“The last three games we were able to win while getting away with sloppy play and sloppy fundamentals,” Bubba Mariani said. “When you play a team like Moapa Valley, you have to play the right way. Run crisp routes, throw your receivers open, make tackles. We’re hopeful this serves as a wake-up call because this is a talented team and we still can have a very productive season.”
Unable to get anything going offensively against the Pirates, the Eagles failed to convert routinely on third- and fourth-down attempts.
Suffering his first taste of growing pains, freshman quarterback Asa Mariani completed 17 of 38, passing for 156 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.
Throughout the first six weeks of the season, Asa Mariani had a 15:4 touchdown, interception ratio.
Through the air, Anthony Eby caught seven passes for 68 yards and a score, while Ghavyn Cartier caught seven passes for 68 yards.
On the ground, Coen Burrows rushed for 30 yards on 14 carries.
Defensively, Cody Aten made 13 tackles, while Cameron Matthews made 10 tackles.
Luke Jappe made five tackles with an interception.
Traveling to The Meadows on Friday, the Eagles will look to get back on track as they battle for playoff positioning.
“We have three games coming up that we believe we can win,” Bubba Mariani said. “We believe we can win out and get a playoff bye.”
