(18) Eagles Come up Short Against (11) Southwestern Despite Fourth Quarter Surge

 KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Down by as much as 30 in the third quarter, (18) Avila (1-1) erupted when it counted, scoring 22 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes to pull all the way back to within eight points, but the Eagles' comeback bid came up just short, and (11) Southwestern (2-0) held on for dear life and escaped The Z with a 49-41 victory on Saturday afternoon.

The Moundbuilders were the only team to defeat the Eagles in Avila's record-setting regular season last year, and that game came right down to the final minute, as just about every recent matchup between AU and SC has. This weekend's game didn't look like it would follow the same script for quite a while after Southwestern dominated the first half, outgaining Avila by nearly 300 yards at the halftime break and expanding their lead to as large as 49-19 with about five minutes left in the third quarter.

But the Eagles have already shown impressive fight and resolve in their first two game weeks under new head coach Derrick Alexander and his brand new crew of coaches. Avila rebounded from an early deficit to come back and beat Bethany last week and very nearly did the same thing against even longer odds this week, outscoring Southwestern 22-0 in the fourth quarter to not only keep the score close but also give the team a legitimate chance to win the game before time simply expired on the Eagles' comeback chances.

Southwestern was quite simply clinical in all aspects of the game for much of the first 30 minutes, while Avila could not neither consistently solve the SC defense nor consistently stop the SC offense. The Builders scored touchdowns on five of their eight possessions in the first half; the other three drives ended in a missed field goal and clutch takeaways by the Eagle defense: a Terrell Valentine interception and a sack fumble forced by Valentino Foma.

Avila's offense was limited to a pair of electrifying plays that carried a current that would ultimately help spark the team after halftime. Trailing 21-0, Eli Williams reeled off one of his trademark long runs, outracing everyone for a 63-yard touchdown to get the Eagles on the board. In the second quarter, immediately after Southwestern scored its fifth touchdown of the game, Lorenzo Baptiste took the ensuing kickoff 91 yards to the house for his first collegiate touchdown making the score 35-13.

The Eagle offense started to get in sync as the game went on. On their second possession of the second half, Williams completed his first passes of the day to receivers, hitting Kareem Chambers and Luis Alvarez to get the Eagles inside the 1-yard line where Williams plunged in himself, making the score 35-19. Unfazed, Southwestern answered right back, converting a 4^th down on a pass from Braden Howell to Andre Jones setting up a touchdown run by Martez Jones before turning an Avila fumble into a touchdown from Howell to Matthew Holthusen on the very next possession.

Just like that, the Moundbuilders had their largest lead, 49-19, with only 5:22 left in the third quarter. But instead of rolling over, the Eagles dialed up the intensity in all phases – just when Southwestern started to ease off the gas, Avila began to accelerate, and the Eagles very nearly caught the Builders before they passed the checkered flag first.

Robert Brooks III got the Eagles on the board first in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, and the Eagle defense recovered a pair of Builder fumbles – one by Foma and another by Caleb Johnson – to eventually set up a three-yard touchdown run by Daleshaun Coleman, his first score as an Eagle. Coleman also converted a pair of 2-point tries to bring Avila back within two possessions with 2:09 on the clock.

Southwestern put some starters back in but the Eagles still immediately forced a three-and-out. On the next drive with time winding down, Williams once again hit both Chambers and Alvarez for double-digit gains before linking up with Brooks for an 18-yard score with just 34 seconds remaining.

Now trailing by just eight points after three straight scores, it all came down to one final onside kick from stand-in kickoff specialist Ishe Smith Jr. – but the Moundbuilders recovered the try, and one kneel down was all that was needed for the visitors to finally seal a surprisingly tense 49-41 victory.

Howell was fantastic in his second game as SC's starter, throwing for 351 yards and four touchdowns, including two to Andre Jones. No one had a standout game on the ground, but SC's running back committee helped set the tone early and stake the team to its large lead. For the Eagles, despite another slow start Eli Williams was once again excellent, accounting for three touchdowns and a total of 183 rushing yards, more than nine yards per carry. Brooks scored twice, and Chambers had a career day, catching seven passes for 110 yards. Gavin Hembree led the defense with eight tackles including a forced fumble; Valentine had six tackles and three breakups along with the pick; Foma finished with a sack, a force, a recovery, and a breakup.

Things don't get much easier next week for the Eagles in what figures to be a loaded KCAC schedule this season. On tap next is Friends, which is currently unranked but has been piling up the points to start the season 2-0. Kickoff next Saturday, September 9, is slated for 6 PM in Wichita; for details on how to watch and follow along, check out Avila Athletics on social media as well as avilaathletics.com.