Neither Axel Eason nor Oaks Christian coach Charlie Collins expected to see Eason at quarterback Friday night against Bishop Diego in a clash of private school powers at SBCC’s La Playa Stadium.
But Eason did play — his first varsity football game ever — and he gave the Lions just enough of a spark to eke out a hard-fought 24-21 Marmonte League win.
“I absolutely did not anticipate playing,” said Eason, a transfer from Sierra Canyon who had to wait six games to be eligible. “When I got the chance, I figured I had to seize the opportunity and make it so I never come out again.”
That might just happen. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound sophomore showed elusiveness in the pocket and accuracy down field in relief of starter Nate Bennett. He connected twice with Justice Williams for long touchdown passes and completed 6-of-10 passes for 123 yards as Oaks Christian improved to 5-2, 2-0.
“I did not anticipate playing Axel tonight,” Collins said, “but Nate was struggling a bit and I felt we needed a little more energy. Thankfully, he was able to supply that.”
It was the second straight game the Cardinals (4-3, 0-2) had lost by the smallest of margins to a team ranked in the top 50 of the state. Last week, it lost 21-20 to St. Bonaventure when it failed to convert a 2-point conversion after a last-minute touchdown.
In this game, the Cardinals rallied after Oaks Christian took a 24-21 lead on 25-yard field goal from Stanford commit Aidan Flintoff with 4:33 to play to get the ball into scoring position. The Cardinals pushed the ball to the Lions’ 22-yard line with 13 seconds remaining. They got even closer when Qu’Ran Gossett, as he had done all night, powered through several tackles before going out of bounds at the 9.
Surely, this time, it would produce at least a tie and overtime. But, alas, the Cardinals were called for holding on the play and the ball went back to the 34, out of field goal range. With only four seconds left, quarterback AJ Vele tried to scramble for a desperation pass but he was dragged down by Joseph Marsh to end the game.
“It is frustrating,” said Gossett, who rushed 26 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns, “but I think we will bounce back great. I believe we will win the rest of our games and go on to CIF and win it all.”
Bishop Coach Tom Crawford wasn’t ready to go there — yet — but he was far from deflated by the last two games.
“It’s going to be dog fight the rest of the way,” he said. “But I tell you, we are getting better. The last two scores do not show it, but we are a much better team than we were at the start of the year.”
Bishop opened the scoring midway into the second quarter when Vele ran for a 15-yard touchdown just two plays after an interception by Liam Flood gave the Cardinals the ball at the OC 33.
The Lions came roaring back with a long drive to the Bishop 3, but running back Johnny Thompson was denied twice at the goal line and Bennett was picked off at the goal line on the next play. Any momentum generated by that turn of events was quickly turned around again, however, when Gossett was stripped of the ball while trying to pull away from a gang of tacklers. A 14-yard run by Eason took the ball to the 2 and Deshonne Redeaux ran it in from there.
“We didn’t expect to see (Eason),” Crawford said. “But, you know what, they have a lot of talent on that team and they have several quarterbacks on their roster who can play. He was definitely elusive. We thought we had him sacked several times and he got away to make a play.”
Bishop Diego retook the lead on its next possession, going 80 yards to score on a 4-yard run by Gossett. The 5-11, 205-pound senior emerged from a gang tackle attempt for a 46-yard run and added an 18-yard pass reception on the drive.
“He’s so powerful,” Crawford said. “He keeps his legs churning and he rarely goes down on the first contact. It’s a real credit to his desire.”
Oaks Christian tied the game with just 3.7 second left in the half on a 29-yard pass from Eason to Williams, who caught the ball in stride a moment after getting a step on Bishop’s cornerback., In other words, a perfect pitch and catch. The Lions got the only score in the third quarter when Eason again hooked up with Williams for a 44-yard strike on exactly the same play.
Williams, a 6-4 junior, finished with four catches for 105 yards, all of them from Eason, who, while new to Oaks Christian, has been playing catch with Williams since their days together in middle school.
“We have the best receivers in California,” Eason said. “And, Justice, we’ve played together maybe 5-6 years before this season. We have good chemistry.”
Bishop was far finished, however. It went on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that featured seven straight runs by Gossett before Vele connected with Flood for a 30-yard completion to the 5. Gossett scored on the next play and Bryan Trejo Villegas nailed the PAT kick to tie the score with 8:32 remaining.
Oaks Christian’s game-winning field goal drive was powered by three straight runs up the middle by Redeaux for 42 yards and an 18-yard pass from Eason to Jalen Lewis.