Season Opening Statement
From the very first snap of the game for Johnston City, it was all downhill.
Two fumble recoveries by Eldorado set the tone early for the Eagles as they opened their 2019 campaign with a dominating 41-7 Black Diamond Conference road win over Johnston City.
After recovering the opening kickoff at the JC 18-yard-line, Austin Brown stepped in front of an Eldorado pass at the Indians six and returned it to the 36.
A block in the back penalty against Johnston City put the ball back at the 15 before a bad snap allowed the Eagles' Ezra Burtis to outscrap two Indians players for the ball and a score. Aiden Whitlock teamed up with Jacob Etienne for the two-point conversion.
Creed Justice set up the Eagles' second touchdown by recovering another JC fumble at the 16-yard-line.
Five plays later, Etienne punched his way in from the one, the extra-point attempt was no good leaving Eldorado with a 14-0 lead.
"We got out to an early lead and that made a difference," said third-year Eldorado skipper, Joe Clark.
"For week one, it was a super sloppy game by both teams. Our program is a little ahead of where they (Johnston City) want to be, but they will get there," Clark added.
Eldorado's third score was set up by another Johnston City turnover when Lydayyea Shewmaker recovered the ensuing kickoff at the Indians' 33. Six plays later, Whitlock teamed up with Shewmaker for a 23-yard scoring strike and Blakely Watt tacked on the two-point conversion making it 20-0 with 7:51 left in the half.
"You can't run just 29 plays and expect to win," said Johnston City Coach Todd Thomas. "When your defense is on the field most of the game, it's hard to win."
Eldorado dominated time of possession and plays run from scrimmage. In the first half alone, the Eagles ran 36 plays to Johnston City's six and had the ball for 17:12 compared to Johnston City's 6:48.
This time domination was also noticed by Etienne who was superb on the offensive side of the ball.
"They didn't have the ball on offense much, so I didn't get to show my defense," Etienne said with a smile after the game.
Etienne gained 92 yards on 18 carries, and scored two second-half, one-yard touchdown plunges in on the evening.
Brown was the lone bright spot for Johnston City. The sophomore quarterback stepped in front of an Eldorado pass in the end zone and returned it 85 yards before being brought down from behind at the 15 as the first half ended.
Brown also scored Johnston City's lone touchdown when he teamed up with Kegan Peek on a 59-yard scoring strike with 7:15 to go in the game. William Walsh kicked the extra point.
Things don't get any easier for the Tribe next week when they host preseason conference favorite, Fairfield. Eldorado will have its hands full when Chester visits the Eagles.