Varsity 541

PREP FOOTBALL

Comets overcome errors, Eagles

Sloppy first half can't deter Crater from earning fourth straight victory over Eagle Point

EAGLE POINT — Once Crater finally got out of its own way, the Comets glided to a victory against Eagle Point on Friday at Eagle Stadium in the Southern Sky Conference opener for both teams.

Crater senior quarterback Josh Lokeno overcame two fumbles in the first quarter that led to Eagle Point scores by orchestrating three second-half scoring drives in the Comets' 35-14 victory.

"We knew we were shooting ourselves in the foot," Lokeno said of the first half. "Maybe it was butterflies or something. We knew we had to get it done, play smarter, play better."

Lokeno was pivotal in turning a 14-8 contest at the break into a Crater rout. He found Josh Dalton for a 10-yard touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, following a gutsy onside kick the Comets (3-3, 1-0 SSC) recovered at Eagle Point's 43.

"That swung the momentum," Eagle Point coach Jacob Schauffler said. "That was a killer. We were down 14-8 and thought we were going to get the ball in the second half. It seemed like everything bounced their way tonight."

Lokeno later connected with Christian Massey for a 33-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and Lokeno answered an Eagle Point score with a 35-yard keeper to put Crater in front 35-14 with 4:14 to play.

"Once he started to feel comfortable, he got rolling and our offense got in a nice rhythm," Crater coach John Beck said of Lokeno. "He did a nice job of keeping his composure, coming back, and moving the chains."

Lokeno finished 9-of-17 passing for 171 yards.

That all came following a rocky first half for Crater offensively.

Lokeno fumbled a snap on the opening series of the game at his own 30-yard line and Eagle Point (2-4, 0-1 SSC) cashed in four plays later when Anthony Jose rushed 1 yard for a touchdown.

Crater's Kelly Beck returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to give the Comets a 7-6 lead but a botched snap on their next possession resulted in a safety for Eagle Point.

"We just had to start playing and not play so tight," Beck said. "We let the first league game get to us. We have guys who haven't played in big games like this. We've had big games this year, but in league games, it's a little tighter."

Lokeno and running back Kenny Fahndrich helped Crater move back in front with a 12-play, 69-yard drive early in the second quarter. The key play came on a third-and-four at the Eagles' 28 when Lokeno tossed short to a wide-open Fahndrich over the middle, which Fahndrich turned into a 19-yard gain.

Fahndrich, who had 92 yards on 22 carries, ran the final 9 yards on the next play to give Crater a 14-8 lead.

Eagle Point had opportunities to take the lead into the break.

Twice the Eagles took over possession inside the Comets' 40-yard line but were unable to score and also failed to make Crater pay for two botched punts and multiple costly penalties.

Crater's ability to withstand those miscues was a credit to the Comets' defense, which allowed just 44 yards of total offense from Eagle Point in the first half and 161 in the game.

Eagle Point's longest play from scrimmage was a 24-yard pass play from quarterback Austin Marlia to wide receiver Garrett Davis in the middle of the fourth quarter.

The Eagles had just three plays over 20 yards in the game.

"They run laterally very, very well," Schauffler said of Crater's defense. "We knew going in that they ran to the ball very well. We were going to try to run some misdirection. We just weren't able to get anything going offensively."

The Eagles' Davis, an all-state selection last season who entered the game second in the SSC with 462 yards receiving and five touchdowns, was battling knee and ankle injuries and was clearly not 100 percent.

He was bottled up by the Comets and had just 10 total yards in the first half and was held without a catch. He finished with 72 yards receiving on eight catches, many coming very late in the game.

"He's just a great ballplayer," Beck said. "We really respect the heck out of him. I hope he heals up. We knew where he was at all times and we knew he and Austin (Marlia) were key to their offense."

Marlia was 11-of-24 passing for 76 yards.

The win is Crater's fourth straight against Eagle Point and sets the Comets up for a showdown with conference favorite Ashland next Friday.

Reach reporter Luke Andrews at 776-4469, or e-mail landrews@mailtribune.com