oliveyrkitegan: Late Scores Send Eagles to Quarters

In a game of scoring flurries by both teams, Eldorado had the last burst.

The Eagles scored their first three touchdowns within a span of 2:47 of the second quarter ? but it was their final two TDs, one on top of the other in the fourth quarter, that broke Highland?s back for good.

Those scores broke a 21-all tie as No. 7 seed Eldorado held off the 10th-seeded Hornets 35-21 on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Stadium in a Class 5A first-round playoff game.

The Eagles (8-3) visit No. 2 Mayfield (8-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at the Field of Dreams. The Trojans beat Eldorado 37-17 in mid-September.

?I believe we?re a better football team than we were at the beginning of the season,? said Eldorado quarterback Sam Gentry, who threw for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns Saturday.

It was a 70-yarder to John Russo along the far sideline with 9:41 remaining that proved to be the game-winner. No one was quite sure how much Russo could give Eldorado, what with an MCL injury to his knee sustained last week against Sandia.

?As I started to run on it and progress on it,? Russo said, ?it started to feel a lot better.?

Russo was wide open on his crucial catch, and broke a Highland tackle at about the 35 before taking it the rest of the way.

?He toughed it out this week, and he was a playmaker,? EHS coach Charlie Dotson said. ?And that?s what we need our seniors to do.?

Two minutes later, the Eagles got their insurance. Jonah Mestes jumped a route, picked off Highland QB Bryan Medina, and returned it 65 yards for a score.

The Hornets (6-5) showed quick-strike capability as well. Trailing 21-7, Medina threw a 33-yard TD pass to David Brown on the final play of the third quarter for a 21-13 game.

Eldorado fumbled on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Medina went right back to work, throwing 23 yards to Brown for another score. After a 2-point conversion, the game was tied at 21.

Eagle Charged With DWI

Eldorado junior Aaron Herrera, a wide receiver and defensive back, was involved in a car accident Thursday night near his school?s campus, and police charged the 16-year-old with aggravated first-offense DWI.

Herrera was dismissed from the team on Friday. Dotson said Herrera has been injured and not attending any of Eldorado?s recent practices.
? This article appeared on page D11 of the Albuquerque Journal