Del Valle Shocks Eastlake in an Epic 2-5A Battle

Bitter 2-5A rivals Del Valle and Eastlake squared off at the SAC on Friday night in an instant classic.  Eastlake looked to continue their dominance over the Conquistadores as they had won the previous three matchups, but it was Del Valle who prevailed 38-35 in a game that featured a finish that will be remembered for quite some time.

Del Valle controlled the game early as they jumped out to the 6-0 lead when RB Adrian Vasquez scored on a 50 yard touchdown run on the first play of the game.  The Falcons countered when QB Keith Tarango-Lopez gave his team a 7-6 lead with a 3 yard keeper in the first quarter.  The Conquistadores took a 20-7 lead by scoring on consecutive drives as both Vasquez and QB Raymond Montez contributed with their tremendous athleticism.  Montez had a huge night as he completed 11 of 20 passes for 239 yards with 1 passing and 2 rushing TD's, while Vasquez had 16 carries for 163 yards and tallied 3 touchdowns.

Eastlake cut the lead to 20-13 late in the first quarter when running back Ezequiel Jones scored a 92 yard touchdown off of a kickoff.  The Falcons then tied the game up going into the half as RB Adrian Chavez punched it in from 5 yards out early in the second quarter.

Both defenses buckled down in the third quarter before Eastlake took a 27-20 lead at the 3:33 mark as QB Tarango-Lopez connected with wide receiver Nathan Macias.  The very first play of the fourth quarter Del Valle QB Montez scored on a 10 yard keeper, but the extra point was no good, giving Eastlake the narrow 27-26 lead.  Then came the last two minutes of the game, and the aforementioned incredible ending to this wild showdown.

Eastlake marched down the field with authority and QB Tarango-Lopez gave the Falcons a 35-32 lead when he scored on an impressive 11 yard keeper and converted the 2-point conversion with 1:08 left in the game.  Del Valle took the ensuing possession with no timeouts left and fearlessly drove down the field in a possession that cumulated in a game winning 10 yard TD reception to WR Jameil Garcia with just 12 seconds left.  The Falcons had one final shot as they were down 38-35 with mere seconds remaining, but fumbled the kickoff at around midfield to ensure their fate.

With the win Del Valle improves to 5-3, 5-1 in 2-5A, and has now won 5 of their last 6 games.  They will host Bel Air next Friday night.  Eastlake moves to 4-3, 4-1 in 2-5A with the loss, and will play at Horizon next week.