Abby runs for nearly 300 yards, crushes Royals
Chase Boller ran for three touchdowns, Irvin Aguilera added a fourth rushing touchdown and threw for another and the Abbotsford Falcons football team won their fourth straight game on Friday night, defeating the hosting Assumption Royals 36-6.
It was an overpowering performance for the visiting Falcons against their Marawood/ CWC-Small rivals. Abbotsford racked up over 300 yards of total offense, most of which came courtesy of their first half rushing attack. The Falcons finished with 294 rushing yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry, delivering another impressive performance on the ground. Meanwhile, the visitors’ defense held Assumption to just 64 total rushing yards for an average of 2.5 per carry. While the Royals had a little more success through the air, completing four of their nine passes for 79 yards, it was not nearly enough to keep up with the consistency of Abbotsford's offense, whose line had regular control over the line of scrimmage.
All five of the Falcons’ touchdowns came in the first half. Fueled by clutch conversions on third and fourth down by running back Jaxon Ploeckelman, Abbotsford was able to march down the field on their opening possession of the contest. Boller capped off the drive by scoring his first touchdown of the evening on a sweep around the right side of the line from 19 yards out.
Assumption was able to answer on the next drive when quarterback Braxten Steinert found Camden Martin on a third and long heave that Martin was able to take to the house, tying the game at 6-6.
Abbotsford met the quick score with one of their own. On their first play from scrimmage following the Royal’s touchdown, the Falcons went right back to Boller on a sweep to the same side of the field. The results were exactly the same as Boller once again found paydirt, getting a number of great blocks before outracing the final Assumption defender on a 58 yard touchdown run.
Carter Cihlar and Boller connected on a key 23 yard pass on fourth down to keep Abbotsford’s next drive alive and Aguilera waltzed into the end zone untouched from two yards out a few plays later for the Falcons’ third touchdown of the quarter. A pair of successful two-point conversions on the final two scores had the visitors up 22-6 after the opening 12 minutes of play.
Boller added his third touchdown of the evening with a five yard run early in the second quarter and Aguilera found Irvin Davila in the back of the end zone on the final play of the half to cap off a 81-yard drive that drained seven and half minutes off the clock. The last second connection between Aguilera and Davila gave Abbotsford a touchdown on all five of their first half possessions.
The Royals started the third quarter with a drive that brought them into Abbotsford territory for the first time in the game, but a sack from linebacker Nathan Dukelow and a stop on fourth down quickly shut down Assumption’s most consistent drive of the evening. The third quarter featured two more turnovers on downs as both defenses held and penalties on the Falcons killed their second possession and forced a punt. A fumble forced by Josue Tzintzun and recovered by Ploeckelman ended the Royals next drive and all but secured the Falcons victory.
Key Moments
Abbotsford was rolling in all three facets of the game on Friday as a couple key special teams plays helped propel the Falcons to victory. Up 14-6 and having just scored on Boller’s long touchdown run, Abbotsford opted to remain aggressive on the following kickoff. Taking advantage of an unaware Assumption front line, the Falcons booted an onside kick, which Ploeckelman was able to recover for the visitors. The play gave the ball right back to the Falcons, who marched right down the field for their third touchdown of the game.
The Royals next possession ended on another special teams blunder. Aguilera was able to tackle the punter after a mishandled snap, creating a turnover on downs that set up Abbotsford’s offense on Assumption’s five-yard line. Boller scored on the next play and the Falcons quickly went up 30-6.
Statistics
It was a highly effective evening for Boller, who led all rushers with 113 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. The senior back only needed seven carries to reach the mark, averaging 16.1 yards per carry on Friday night. Ploeckelman was also highly effective for the Falcons, racking up 67 yards on seven carries and Aguilera collected 51 yards and a touchdown on nine touches. Manuel Lopez finished the game with the most carries for the Falcons, picking up 45 yards on 11 carries and Cihlar had four carries for 14 yards.
Aguilera went 2-for-6 passing for 20 yards and a touchdown while Cihlar was 1-for-1 for 23 yards. Boller had one catch for 23 yards, Davila added another for 19 yards and a touchdown and Luis Lujan had one catch for one yard.
Tzintzun was the Falcons leading tackler, registering six solo tackles and a sack in the win. He also forced two fumbles. Aguilera was in on 4.5 tackles himself, Dukelow had 3.5 tackles and Davila and Marcus VanLuven both had three tackles each.
What’s Next?
The Falcons will be back at home this Friday, Sept. 26, inviting Pittsville into town for a conference matchup. The Panthers are 1-4 this season and are on a four game losing streak. Their sole victory this season came via forfeit after former Marawood/CWCSmall member Rosholt moved to eight-man this season. Pittsville has faced some tough opponents this season and are coming off back-to-back losses to Auburndale and Edgar where they were unable to score and gave up 41 and 40 points respectively.
Senior quarterback Dawson Luther is both the Panthers leading rusher, collecting 294 yards and a touchdown on 71 carries, and top tackler for their defense. He has completed 19 of his 45 pass attempts for 191 yards and a touchdown with five interceptions. Fellow senior Dalton Darr is Pittsville's second option on the ground, having accumulated 135 yards thus far this season, and senior Christian Matthews is their leading receiver with 10 catches for 101 yards and a touchdown. Junior Jackson Duerr and Matthews are second and third on the team in tackles.
Kickoff between the two conference foes is set for 7 p.m.
