Templeton’s playoff hopes took a hit Friday night as the Eagles lost a tough home game to Pioneer Valley 17-0.

In the loss — the second straight Los Padres League home loss for the Eagles (5-3 overall, 2-3 in the LPL) and third LPL loss overall — Templeton’s offense struggled to move the ball consistently, gaining just 63 rushing yards on 32 carries.

“Offensively we did not play well, and they played great defense,” said Eagles’ head coach Don Crow. “My hat’s off to Pioneer Valley.”

Though the Eagles’ defense was strong throughout most of the game, the Eagles’ offense couldn’t take advantage of opportunities as the Panthers’ defense recorded its second-straight shutout.

Templeton’s best drive came at the start of the game, after the Eagles’ took the opening kickoff and methodically drove deep into Panthers territory. After a short loss on a carry by Ben Terry, Casey Bogart connected with Terry on an 11-yard screen pass. Later, Bogart connected with his twin brother, Tyler, on a 12-yard strike to set up a first down at the Panthers’ 39-yard line.

Bogart connected with Tyler again three plays later for 11 yards, setting up a first down at the Panthers’ 16-yard line. On the next play, Andrew Schechter took the handoff and fumbled, giving the ball to the Panthers at their own 10-yard line.

The Eagles defense forced a punt and set up Templeton’s second drive at the 47-yard line. Templeton went four and out, failing to convert on a short fourth and two just into Panther territory.

The Eagles’ offense went deep into Panther territory a number of times — as they had Oct. 19 against St. Joseph — but each time the drive stalled. Though the fumble on the opening drive hurt the Eagles’ momentum, Crow said it was just one factor in the loss.

“We had the ball inside their territory six more times and didn’t get any points,” he said. “[The fumble] hurt, but we had other chances.”

Neither team was able to score in the first quarter or through the first 10 minutes of the second quarter. A Panther fumble on their second drive was recovered by Sean McCaffrey, giving his team new life. The Eagles’ drive stalled, forcing another punt.

Later, in the second quarter, Panther quarterback Nick Rucobo attempted a long pass down the sideline, but it was intercepted by Tyler at the Eagles’ seven-yard line with 5:56 left in the half.

Following an Eagles’ punt, on the subsequent Panther drive Rucobo again went deep against Tyler. This time, though Tyler had his hands on the ball, Panther receiver Diego De Miranda was able to come down with the ball at the Eagles’ five-yard line following a 27-yard strike. Three plays later, Rucobo punched the ball in for the first score of the game with 20.8 seconds left in the half. The Panthers hit the extra point to take a 7-0 lead.

On the following kickoff, Tyler sprinted through the Panther coverage and took the ball to the Eagles’ 49-yard line with 14.2 seconds. Two plays later, Bogart connected with Tyler on a 25-yard strike that carried the ball to the Panther 26-yard line, setting up a 43-yard field goal try for Terry on the final play of the half. Terry’s kick was long enough but faded just left, leaving the score 7-0 at the half.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Panthers struck again. A drive late in the third set up a 41-yard field goal attempt for Andres Montiel on the first play of the fourth quarter. His kick was true and the Panthers took a 10-0 lead with 11:58 left in the game.

On the next drive, on third-and-10 at the 33-yard line, Bogart connected with Terry on a 40 yard strike that set up a first down at the Panthers’ 13-yard line. Four plays later, Bogart’s pass to Kris Dearie came up short, and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs.

Late in the fourth quarter, on a drive to run out the clock with less than two minutes left in the game, Pioneer Valley’s Dan Ando broke free for a 38-yard touchdown run to put the game away as the Panthers went on to win 17-0.

Bogart finished the game 8-for-19 for 112 yards and an interception. Tyler had four catches for 56 yards and Terry had two for 53 yards. Cody Smith carried the ball 11 times for 27 yards and Schechter carried the ball six times for 20 yards.

With two games left, the Eagles’ have to be perfect to keep hope of earning a playoff berth alive.

“We have to win two then see what happens,” Crow said. “We’ll know in two weeks.”

Templeton is on the road at Cabrillo next Friday night. The game begins at 7:30 p.m.



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