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TEMECULA — Will Ford may be Superman for Rancho Christian this season, but penalties were the Eagles’ kryptonite Thursday night against Xavier Prep.
Rancho Christian had two promising drives in the second half stalled by penalties deep in Saints’ territory, and the schools settled for a 7-7 tie in the nonleague game.
Under CIF Southern Section rules for nonleague football games, coaches must mutually agree to overtime before the opening kickoff. Rancho Christian’s William Lowe and Xavier Prep’s James Dockery did not reach such an agreement Thursday.
Rancho Christian enters its bye week with a 3-1-1 record. The Eagles will open Sunbelt League play at Valley View on Oct. 4. Xavier Prep (2-1-1) plays at Aquinas Sept. 27.
Lowe lamented the outcome as a missed opportunity. The Eagles are winless against Xavier Prep in four meetings.
“I wish we would have got it in on one of those drives, but penalties killed us,” Lowe said.
Ford, who ranks in the Top 10 ball carriers in the state, carried 43 times for 226 yards and a touchdown, pushing his season total to 980 rushing yards on 130 carries, an average of 7.5 yards per tote.
“He runs almost like a Marcus Allen type,” Lowe said. “He’s not big – he probably only weighs 170, 175 – but he’s slippery. He can slip through holes and make guys miss, and he doesn’t have to make big jukes. And he’s a tough kid. He doesn’t complain at all.”
“He hits the hole really good,” Dockery said. “We’re a very physical defense, and he didn’t back down. He kept his legs moving. He didn’t turn the ball over. He ran hard, broke tackles on third down.”
The Eagles relied on Ford more than usual because quarterback Blake Nadler, who started as a freshman last year and helped the Eagles return to the playoffs, withdrew from school Monday after Rancho Christian’s victory over Lowell of San Francisco. Wide receiver Ben Roy, who had experience as a junior varsity quarterback for Rancho Christian, took the snaps Thursday.
In the third quarter, Ford gained four yards on third-and-1 and 10 yards on fourth-and-7 as the Eagles moved deep into Xavier prep territory. But an illegal motion penalty sapped the momentum, and a fourth-down pass from the Saints’ 21-yard line was incomplete.
In the fourth quarter, Ford had key runs that sustained a 15-play, 7-minute drive that had the Eagles in position for a go-ahead score. But on fourth down from the Xavier Prep 20, safety TJ Bosley intercepted a pass in the end zone with 1:53 remaining.
“We have to clean that stuff up, especially when you’re in a game like this,” Lowe said. “But our team played extremely hard, and that’s the most we’ve played like a team all year.”
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