10/4/07 Torrey Pines Freshman Falcons @ Oceanside Pirates

Everyone said it would be a battle. It was. Overcoming an interception at the goalline, another interception at the Pirate 25, a fumble, and two kickoff returns for touchdowns by a tremendous athlete from Oceanside, the Falcons prevailed for the fourth straight week 27-21. Kevin Cuff rushed for two scores, John Cabot ran for one and threw to CJ Vafiadis for the other as the Falcons came back from the 7-0 deficit after the opening kickoff was returned against them to score 27 unanswered points.

The offensive line knows who wins the game. Great line play by Harry Wilburn, Pat Barnes, Daniel Murray, Tyler Quirt, Chris Kim, and Pablo Loza were opening gaps in the Pirate defense all game. It was a great team victory as the defense stopped the Pirates on every drive except a late touchdown allowed with just over a minute left. Great plays by Scott Mainquist (4 tackles), Harry Wilburn (4 tackles), Chris Van Datta (2 tackles), Spike Carlyle, Chris Kim and the linebacker group of Cuff (3 tackles, fumble recovery), JT Stratigopoulos (6 tackles), and Vafiadis (2 tackles) were commonplace. The defensive backfield of Larch-Miller (interception), Shigley, and Wilson were solid as well. Of special note was great defense to turn the Pirates away with no score after they started their possession on the Falcon 25 yard line. Also, a key solid tackle by Van Datta and Stratigopoulos to stop the ballcarrier in his tracks on a fourth and 1.

After the final Pirate touchdown, the Falcons recovered the onside kick (twice because of the official ruling them offsides the first time), and then proceeded to run out the clock with another tough run by Cuff. John Wilson provided a spark with his nifty moves running the ball, as well as throwing back to Cabot for a big first down. Wilson provided the outside threat as Cuff did on the inside. Along with Cabots' passing, it kept the defense guessing.

The Falcons will battle the Titans of Poway next week. Go Falcons! Beat the Titans!