San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Fredericksburg 28, Pleasanton 20
Quick take: Pleasanton’s improbable playoff run came to an end when the Eagles could not overcome costly turnovers in their 28-20 loss to Fredericksburg on Friday night at Farris Stadium in the Class 4A Division I Region IV semifinals.
In total, the Eagles coughed up the ball three times leading to 14 points for the Billies.
Pleasanton (9-4) finished the night with 305 yards passing but it was not enough to overcome their mistakes and the Billies (9-4) ground game churned out 228 yards to keep the clock moving and the Eagles off the field.
Fredericksburg played the game without coach Lance Moffett, who was removed by the school district for the remainder of the playoffs. The school did not give a reason for the dismissal.
Highlights: Pleasanton wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, scoring on a 55-yard pass from Sean Ramos to Jayce Krauskopf on its second play of the game. The point-after attempt sailed wide to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead 46 seconds into the game.
The Billies’ offense took a while to get going, failing to get a first down on their first possession.
On its second drive, Fredericksburg stayed on the ground and used 13 plays to go 93 yards and take the lead early in the second quarter. Jesse Leija did most of the work, carrying the ball for 52 yards on seven carries, including a 34-yard run through the heart of the Pleasanton defense to take the ball deep into Eagles territory.
Quarterback Cole Immel finished the drive with a 1-yard run up the middle. With a made extra point, the Billies took a 7-6 lead.
Fredericksburg’s defense then forced a threeand-out on the Eagles’ next drive. Luke DiCuffa pushed Pleasanton back on second down, sacking Ramos for a 9-yard loss.
The Billies did some damage through the air on their second scoring drive, with Immel finding Layton Beyer for 26 yards to quickly get Fredericksburg deep into Eagles territory.
Fredericksburg’s offense changed things up from the 14-yard line with Leija lining up for the shotgun snap and handing the ball off to Kade Jenschke. The senior wideout ran into the end zone, dragging Pleasanton defenders over the goal line. The score gave Fredericksburg a 14-6 lead with 6:32 left in the first half.
Pleasanton took advantage of a special teams miscue by Fredericksburg to close the scoring gap late in the second quarter. The Billies’ punt returner attempted to field a Pleasanton punt on the run, but the ball bounced off the returner’s chest and into the arms of Chance Hehman for the Eagles.
With a new set of downs at the Billies’ 43, Pleasanton quickly went to work. A 28-yard pass from Ramos to Jayden Palacios set the Eagles offense up inside the 5. Ramos then hit Diego Luna on a 3-yard pass for the score.
Jose Angel-Perez was good on his point-after
attempt to cut the Fredericksburg lead to 14-13 at halftime.
At the start of the second half, Pleasanton could not take advantage of turnover on the kickoff.
Palacios, playing on the coverage team, recovered a fumble after Mason Reeh was looking for a big return. But the Billies’ return man lost the ball at midfield, and Palacios was there to scoop it up.
Fredericksburg’s defense held, though, and turned Pleasanton back.
The Billies defense then forced a couple of Eagles turnovers on consecutive possessions. The first fumble was recovered by Logan Metzger after DiCuffa chased down Ramos from behind and knocked the ball free. The play knocked the Pleasanton
quarterback out of the game and gave the Billies the ball deep in Pleasanton territory. Senior Stephen Wade needed only one play. He took his first handoff of the game and made his way for a 16-yard touchdown run to give the Billies a 21-13 advantage.
With a backup quarterback in, the Eagles tried to keep the ball on the ground, but the Fredericksburg defense forced another fumble when Joel Arevalo coughed up the ball in the middle of the Billies’ defense. Sam Seidenberger’s fumble recovery set up his offense at the 40, and Fredericksburg went to work.
The Billies needed nine plays to increase their lead to 28-13 when Immel scored on a 1-yard run to
cap the drive.
Pleasanton then mounted its comeback. Freshman Cade Segura settled down after his initial passes sailed over his receivers. With his feet planted under him, Segura was able to find Palacios sprinting down the right sideline for an 83-yard score to cut the Billies’ lead.
The comeback attempt was short-lived as Pleasanton’s last drive of the game stalled in Fredericksburg territory when Derek Whitworth got to Segura in the Pleasanton backfield and forced the third Eagles turnover. James Sebera recovered the ball and sealed the win for the Billies.
Quotable: “Nobody expected us to be here,” Pleasanton coach Stephen Liska said after the game.
“This senior class, I had a feeling we had the talent there to get it done. They stuck with the process. They battled every week. We had adversity here and there throughout the season. We had two home losses in the season where the kids could have folded up. But they made it happen.”
Game balls: Immel was the offensive stalwart for Fredericksburg. The senior ran the ball for 66 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw for 56 yards on 5-of-11 passing.
Wade came into the game in the second half and carried the ball for 68 yards on 12 carries and a score.
Palacios led the way for Pleasanton with seven receptions for 177 yards and a score.
Up next: Fredericksburg advances to the regional finals next week versus Austin LBJ.