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2008 Central Coast Youth Football League Super Bowl: Eagles got the ‘Wright’ stuff

By Brad Memberto/Sports Writer

Five Cities Eagles running back Jeremiah Wright started off the day in a big way, then finished even bigger.

Wright scored on the first play from scrimmage, then was held quiet by the Paso Cats defense until late in the game.

In the meantime, the defense held court.

Recording their ninth shutout of the season, Five Cities defeated Paso 20-0 to win the Bantam Division championship at the 2008 Central Coast Youth Football League Super Bowl on Saturday at Huyck Stadium in Lompoc.

“It took blood, sweat and tears,” said Five Cities head coach Mike Stephenson. “Just ask anyone — defense wins ballgames.”

The Eagles held the Cats to 100 yards total on the ground and allowed only 16 yards in the air.

But the offense belonged to Wright, who took the ball on the first offensive play of the game and ran for a 69-yard touchdown.

Wright finished the game with 200 yards on the ground on 14 carries. Making that stat even more amazing was the fact that four of his carries were for losses and one was for no gain.

“Mr. Wright — every year he rushes for over 2,500 yards and we can’t even count the touchdowns,” Stephenson said.

The Paso defense did an admirable job as well, until late in the game. With 3:54 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Eagles holding a 7-0 lead, Wright finally found his groove, exploding for a 71-yard touchdown run and then added an insurance score with a 27-yard TD at 2:27.

“We played Paso once before but it wasn’t much of a game. But they came out to play in this game,” Stephenson said. “They played excellent today — my hat’s off to them.”

Both teams were outstanding on defense as no team had a drive over seven plays until Paso opened the second half with a 14-play drive that started at its own 34-yard-line.

Tristan Durfee ran the ball 11 times for 28 yards on the drive. The drive ended at the Five Cities 22 when Durfee fumbled and the ball was recovered by Nathan Witzig for the Eagles.

Durfee ended the game with 53 yards rushing to lead the Cats, followed by Mark Armstrong with 44. After Wright, Benny Willkomm added 58 yards rushing for the Eagles.

Intermediate Division

Five Cities Eagles 27,

Templeton Eagles 0

Scotty Cusack returned a punt 38 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and Five Cities never looked back.

A swarming defense kept Templeton out of scoring position all game long.

Matthew Willkomm threw three touchdown passes, two in the second quarter. The first was a 7-yard toss to Patrick Laird at 6:18, then with nine seconds remaining in the half, he hit Christian Allen from 12 yards out.

The final score came in the fourth quarter when Carson Wack took a short pass from Willkomm and ran it in from the 11-yard-line.

One highlight for Templeton was Chris Romero’s two blocks on extra-point attempts.

bmemberto@timespressrecorder.com