Judging by the first half of the game, it seemed as though the Falcons had a fairly good chance against power house John Muir. However, as the game progressed the Mustangs showed why they’re undefeated in League, demolishing the Falcons 57-14.

Like past games, CV’s efforts in the first quarter was not enough to record a victory. But their momentum and successful attempts to shut down the Mustang offense in the first quarter had the crowd expecting a homecoming win.

Senior quarterback Scott Thompson put the Falcons on the board first with a 14-yard run. As the clock ran out, junior running back Ryan Eberhart made the second and last touchdown for the Falcons, with an impressive 63-yard run. Eberhart had nine carries for 94 yards in the first half.

The final three quarters were disheartening to say the least. The Mustangs were all over the Falcons as a fumble was picked up by Muir’s William Youngblood and returned for a 37-yard touchdown. Another turnover and touchdown by Muir left the Falcons down 14 points at half time.

Muir clearly had the upper hand in the second half, scoring 51 points straight. The Falcons’ inability to score was certainly detrimental to the morale of the team.

The Falcons could not stop the Muir offense once they started running either. The Mustangs would not go down without a great amount of effort on the Falcons’ part.

The score may not have shown the effort the Falcons were putting forward, but it was evident on the field.

“Honestly the score does not show how well we played,” said senior middle back Tyler Lopez. “We gave everything we had, and fate was just against it.”

Youngblood and Reuben Thomas carried the Muir offense, gaining 445 yards to CV’s 285 yards.

Youngblood had two touchdowns on 13 carries and had a 55-yard touchdown in the opening quarter.

Thomas rushed for 102 yards and had a score on seven carries. He also scored three touchdowns in the second half and was six-of-nine for 196 yards.

“They have deadly speed,” said Head Coach Tony Zarillo. “They are the best team we have played all year.”

Ready to put this devastating loss behind them, the Falcons focused on archrivals, the Arcadia Apaches. To have a shot for a berth in the playoffs, the Falcons had to beat the Apaches.

With 1:34 left on the clock the Falcons had to score in order to tie and go into over time. Unfortunately for the Falcons, they were unable to do so as the game came to an end 31-24.

Senior running back Clay Sierra had three long receptions, one which was a 26-yard pass completion. The Falcons reached Arcadia’s 25-yard line with 24 seconds to spare. However a spiked ball and three incompletions sealed the fate for the Falcons.