Eagles Race out to Huge Halftime Lead, Cruise Past Spires in Season Finale

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Avila football (4-7, 3-2 Bissell) saved one of its best overall performances of the season for last, racing out to a 34-0 lead at halftime and coasting in the second half en route to a resounding 48-21 victory over Saint Mary (3-8, 1-4 Bissell) on Saturday afternoon in Leavenworth.

After a challenging run through the Kessinger Division to begin this season, Avila football finished off extremely strong, winning three of its final four games to secure third place in the Bissell Division in the KCAC's first year of divisional play. The Eagles' overall showing last week against Sterling, where they sent off the seniors in style with a 31-point win, was probably their best of the season, but this one was a close second: Avila won by 27 and, unlike against Sterling, the Eagles never trailed against the Spires in a wire-to-wire win.

And really, this time, the Eagles never left the result in doubt. Avila's defense forced USM into a three-and-out on the first possession of the day, and on the second Zamir Jones and Massimo Garcia combined on a fumble recovery to give the Eagles the ball around midfield. And just four plays later, after he hit Kareem Chambers for a 25-yard gain, Avila quarterback Eli Williams linked up with Jordan Cummings for a 27-yard touchdown to put Avila in front 7-0 with about five minutes left in the first quarter.

And that was only the beginning for the Eagles. After Avila forced a turnover on downs on Saint Mary's first possession of the second quarter, the Eagle offense struck quickly, courtesy of a 62-yard catch-and-run from Williams to Jalen Thach on a third down play to extend the lead. On their next drive, Williams hit AJ Carreon on a 54-yard completion off a flea-flicker before finding Chambers in the end zone for a score. A botch punt by the Spires finished off by Malik Ashford then gave Avila the ball inside the 2, and Jahkese Watkins punched it in on the first try, expanding the lead to 27-0.

A couple of clutch plays helped the Eagles score one more time just before the break. First, Jabari Judge intercepted an Erick Covington pass in the end zone and returned it 21 yards to give Avila the ball with 3:39 to play, and on that drive, on 3^rd and 19, Williams hit Thach for a gain of 15 and then a gain of 40 on 4^th down for a touchdown coming with ten seconds showing on the clock, sending the Eagles into the locker room on top 34-0.

Saint Mary finally got its offense going in the second half, finding the end zone a total of three times after halftime, but it mattered little because Avila's running game never faltered: Jahkese Watkins ran it home from six yards out in the third quarter and then from 55 yards out in the fourth to finish off a killer final month of the season and put a bow on a 48-21 victory for the Eagles in the season finale.

Avila held Saint Mary offensive standouts Jartavious Martin (96 yards rushing, 1 TD) and Michael Gazzana (107 yards receiving) relatively in check by their lofty standards, but the Eagle offense was electric, totaling 549 yards, by far a season high. Williams steered the ship with 323 passing yards and four touchdowns without a turnover; Watkins rushed for 135 yards and three touchdowns; and Thach finished with 127 yards receiving and two scores on just four catches. Jordan Duffie led the Eagle defense with nine tackles; Trevon Miller was right behind with eight, as was Zamir Jones, who also had two TFLs. Dylan Globe set a new personal best with six made PATs, and the only one he missed was blocked.

Not long ago, three wins was the high water mark for this program, but this year, even amidst some turmoil and a lot of turnover, the team finished strong and got to four wins – previously an unheard of plateau. With a full season of a new divisional structure in the books, along with a full year under the direction of head coach Derrick Alexander – along with his core coaching crew of Bret Beachner, Martin Mathis and Opetaia Tuiava, the future looks bright for Avila football.