FRIARS DEFENSE FENDS OFF GECKOS THREAT

By Jay Leon Guerrero

For the second straight week, the Father Duenas Friars defense made big plays to secure another victory in the ISA Football League.

Two defensive touchdowns were scored against the George Washington Geckos, and the Friars celebrated a 24-7 victory Friday night at GW. The Friars move into sole possession of first place with a 6-0 record, the Geckos fall to 5-1. FD’s winning streak is now at 78.

Both starting offenses had trouble moving the chains for the majority of the contest. The game was scoreless after the first quarter. 

The Friar defense made a play before hafltime to score the first touchdown, a pick-six interception returned by defensive back Hyan Mesa.

“My teammate Isaac Wessling was able to punch the ball, which gave me the opportunity to get the interception. I saw room to run and went in for the score,” said Mesa. “The score broke the ice, and our morale went up for us.”

With constant pressure by the FD front line, Mesa returned the interception for a 26-yard score.The extra point kick by David Leon Guerrero put the Friars up 7-0 at halftime.

The Friars caught a break in the third quarter, after a bad snap by the Geckos was recovered by FD linebacker Luis Barrett. The Friars were able to enter the red zone, which led to a 27-yard field goal by Leon Guerrero to go ahead 10-0.

The Friars added another defensive touchdown late in the third quarter with Noah Duenas returning a 29-yard interception for a touchdown to go up 17-0. 

Duenas made the right read on a hurried Gecko pass play and went down the left sideline untouched for the score. 

The Geckos got on the board in the opening minute of the fourth quarter with linebacker Rayn Rios dropping back in coverage and intercepting a pass at midfield. Rios brushed off tackle attempts and ran into the end zone for a 56-yard score. The Geckos had life, trailing 17-7.

Both offenses were unable to make big plays in the final period. The Friars capitalized on special teams from a fumble off a punt to score an insurance touchdown.

Isaiha Arriola recovered a bobbled punt for the Friars, and the Friars were at the GW eight yard line. Two plays later, Burgos turned into a fullback and scored on a five yard rushing touchdown to end the game at 24-7.

“Both defenses played good tonight,” said Burgos. “We have a lot of respect for GW, and we are happy to get the win tonight.”

The Friars will face the Okkodo Bulldogs next week Saturday, and a victory will give them the top-seed heading into the playoffs. The 5-1 Geckos will face the 4-1 Southern Dolphins next Friday at GW for the second seed. That game would have no bearing in the semis as both teams will finish 2-3 no matter the winner and will face each other the following weekend in the semifinals anyway.

Rios had six tackles and the interception for the Geckos. The Geckos were able to record three sacks with Joseph Cruz recording a sack and a half. Cruz shared a sack with defensive end Seth Merfalen. Landon Suzuki had the third sack, a solo tackle for a 12-yard loss.

Burgos had 5.5 tackles, a half sack, a strip fumble, a fumble recovery, and a rushing touchdown for FD. Mason Whitaker had 4.5 tackles and shared sack. Arriola had 3.5 tackles, two tackles-for-losses, and a recovered fumble.

Burgos was humble in the victory Friday night, but there is still much work to do before entering the playoffs: “We made some mistakes tonight. We look to improve by working harder in practice,” said Burgos. 

In the other Friday night game, the Sanchez Sharks upended the JFK Islanders 22-6 and put a damper on JFK’s playoff hopes.

Next week is the last week before the ISA Football League playoffs. 

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY: