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Late first-half TD sparks Eagles

CLOVIS - Coming off a win over two-time defending 6-man state runnerup Elida in its opener, Clovis Christian's football team may have found itself a bit overconfident on Friday night.

Dora played the Eagles tough for a half at Jim Hill Field, but junior Noah Ashford broke away from several Coyotes near midfield and went 48 yards on a scoring pass from Jaden Martinez with a second left before intermission, and CCS went on to a 44-6 victory.

Ashford had his second consecutive big game, collecting 149 yards rushing, catching two passes for 59 yards and scoring five touchdowns. CCS (2-0) put the game completely out of reach with three consecutive one-play scoring possessions late in the third quarter.

The Coyotes (0-2), with just nine players, dropped their opener 50-0 to highly-touted Gateway Christian, but played toe-to-toe with the Eagles until they began to run out of gas in the second half.

"We kind of underestimated them in the beginning," CCS coach Kenny Duong said. "They hit us hard early on, but we recovered and came on strong after that."

While the score doesn't look much different, Dora coach Clay Ferguson said he saw considerable improvement over the first week.

"Big plays hurt us," Ferguson said. "But I'm proud of the kids. Compared to the way we played last week, we looked like two different football teams."

Dora stopped the Eagles on their first two possessions, but CCS struck with just over four minutes left in the opening stanza on a 15-yard run by Ashford.

The Coyotes then dragged CCS punter Santi Garbarino down six yards short of a first down on a fourth-and-20 fake punt early in the second quarter, and pulled to 8-6 six plays later on a 5-yard TD run by sophomore Bryson Paxton. They still trailed just 14-6 with time running out in the half when Ashford caught a ball in traffic over the middle, escaped several would-be tacklers and carried it in for a 48-yard touchdown to make it 22-6 at halftime.

"We just came out a little nervous," said senior Kane Duong, one of two brothers of coach Duong on the team.

He said everyone is moving toward a common goal under his older brother, who helped CCS win an 8-man state title in 2010.

"All of our younger kids are working their butts off," he said. "They've really bought into the system."

Kane Duong, who scored on a 39-yard run in the third stanza, said he enjoys playing for his brother.

"I've always looked up to him watching him play in high school," he said. "I always loved watching the older kids play."

Ferguson said the Coyotes are adjusting to the 6-man game after several years in 8-man.

"None of these kids have ever played 6-man before," he said. "It's the same sport, but it's a lot different game.

"Six-man is an athlete's game. If you have a bunch of tall, fast kids you can out-athlete people."

Paxton finished with 66 yards rushing in the contest, but the Eagles held Dora to just 107 yards of total offense, including a 2-of-13 passing night.

CCS was scheduled to play its first road game next week at Springer, but coach Duong said the Red Devils have canceled their season due to lack of numbers. The final contest on the four-game, regular-season slate will be March 26 at Floyd.

Meantime, Dora plays at Floyd next week before hosting Elida on March 26.

Elida 56, Floyd 6 - The Tigers bounced back from their loss at CCS with a dominating home performance against the Broncos. Sophomore Mason Pritchett's 65-yard TD run with 1:21 left ended the game on the 50-point mercy rule.

Junior Jesse Woodruff returned an early fumble eight yards for a touchdown and caught a pair of scoring passes from sophomore quarterback Levi Victor, who had a third TD toss to sophomore Dalyn Taylor.

Juan Alba-Beltran put Floyd on the board with a 65-yard touchdown return of the kickoff following Woodruff's first score, making it 8-6, but Elida held the Broncos in check the rest of the way.

Melrose 52, Menaul 0 - At Albuquerque, freshman Michael Cardonita ran for three touchdowns and five 2-point conversions as the Buffaloes invoked the 50-point rule at halftime against the Panthers.

Cardonita ran 50 yards for a score on the game's first play from scrimmage. He ran 52 yards to the end zone early in the second stanza to stretch the Buffs' lead to 46-0.

Senior Devon Bailey caught a pair of TD passes from quarterback Tate Sorgen, and also returned a punt 55 yards for a score. Sophomore Dylan Draper had the final TD for Melrose late in the half on a 20-yard run.