With an inconsistent offense that belies a young team, early turnovers led to a loss by Firebaugh at the hands of the Coalinga Horned Toads, 39-12.
Coalinga drove down the field on the game’s opening drive, mixing both runs and passes. On a counter play, they took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Coalinga added another touchdown in the second quarter after they completed a pass on a third-and-long situation. The first of two interceptions led to Coalinga taking advantage of a short field as the score at halftime was 24-0.
The Eagles finally got on the board in the third quarter when Anthony Fernandez took a handoff from quarterback Manuel Bautista and on a sweep left and scored on a 56-yard touchdown run.
After holding Coalinga on downs, the Eagles were able to drive down the field and they again scored on a 11 yard pass from Bautista to Issac Ceja.
But another turnover that led to a Coalinga touchdown put the game out of reach.
Fernandez finished with 101 yards rushing on 11 carries. Bautista rushed for 77 yards on 14 carries and also completed six passes for 47 yards.
This Friday, the Eagles will continue West Sierra League action when they face Tranquillity.
