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Elliot's Brandon Ivy is dragged down by Carlos Magana of Sierra Ridge during the first half of Saturday's game at the Grape Bowl. (Dan Evans/News-Sentinel)

Late turnovers help Sierra spoil Eagles' finale

By Richard Banas II
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Monday, November 17, 2008 6:43 AM PST

Elliot Christian won the football game against visiting Sierra Ridge-Rite of Passage on Saturday in every category except for where it mattered most — on the scoreboard.

Brandon Ivy ran for 162 yards and three touchdowns and quarterback Mason Vickers completed 13-of-23 passes for 230 yards and one score but Elliot couldn't overcome three costly second half turnovers as the Eagles fell to the Rams 28-26 in the Harvest Christian League season finale for both teams at the Grape Bowl.

Sierra (1-8, 1-4 HCL) won its first game of the year and left Elliot Christian (2-8, 0-5 HCL) in last place for the first time since the inception of the program six seasons ago. The Eagles, who suited up just 15 players, dropped their last three games this season by a total of just 12 points.

"We are a lot better team than our record shows, but the breaks went against us in this game just like they have all season long," Elliot head coach Dean Davis said. "Tonight was no different. It was the little things that hurt us."

The Eagles were ahead 20-14 and driving for an insurance score when Sierra's Roland Simmons picked off a Vickers' pass and raced down the sideline 85 yards for a touchdown to pull the Rams into a 20-20 tie with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Vickers came right back with a 65-yard pass to Tyler Olson on the next series and then Ivy bulled into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the Sierra 1-yard line to put the Eagles back on top 26-20 with 24 seconds left in the third after the Rams blocked the PAT.

After Sierra RB Jerald Stevenson plunged into the end zone from 8 yards out at the 9:19 mark of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 26, Ram QB Dominic Smith's bootleg 2-point conversion gave Sierra a two-point lead at 28-26.

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Vickers methodically led the Eagles down the field on their next possession to the Rams' 28-yard line behind the power running of Ivy and a pair of pass completions to Olson and Nathan Fickert.

On third down, Vickers fumbled on a pass attempt after being forced to scramble when wide-open Eagles receiver Phil Wiggins was tripped. No flag was thrown on the play, and Sierra recovered the ball.

The Elliot defense held and the Eagles got the ball back with just over a minute to play. Three consecutive penalties killed the drive, however.

Elliot totaled 437 yards of offense with 18 first downs compared to just 213 yards of total offense by Sierra. The Rams picked up just eight first downs while both teams scored four TDs apiece.

The biggest difference came on point-after conversions, as the Eagles had two PAT kick attempts blocked, while the Rams were successful on a pair of 2-point conversion runs that provided the final margin of victory.

SIERRA 28, ELLIOT 26
Sierra0146828
Elliot7136026
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
EC-Wiggins 1 pass from Vickers (kick blocked)
Second Quarter
S-Saephan 8 pass from Smith (run failed)
EC-Ivy 25 run (Vickers kick)
S-Stevenson 1 run (Stevenson run)
EC-Ivy 8 run (Vickers kick)
Third Quarter
S-Simmons 85 Interception return (run failed)
EC-Ivy 1 run (kick blocked)
Fourth Quarter
S-Stevenson 8 run (Smith run)

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