GIBSONTON — After his team got trampled by Jefferson and its dual-threat quarterback in Week 1, Alonso coach Brian Emanuel went to the film and pointed out 17 errors by the Ravens.
“We’ve been preaching to the kids, you can’t do that and win football games,” Emanuel said.
Monday night against East Bay, the Ravens were on the other side of that teachable moment as Alonso (2-1) recovered six fumbles en route to a 35-3 win on the road.
Finishing with 253 total yards, East Bay (2-1) had 90 more than its opponent but not a single touchdown to show for it.
On the Indians’ first possession, quarterback Jordan Anderson, filling in for injured Chris Carpentier, drove 54 yards down the field. But on third down at the 20, Chris Greene fumbled on a run up the middle. Ravens safety Roosevelt Lawrence recovered and took it all the way back for a touchdown.
“They had big stops,” Alonso running back Ish Witter said about his team’s defense. “When your defense is playing like that, you’ve just got to pick it up yourself.”
In the second quarter, with East Bay trailing by four after a 25-yard field goal from Eric Morgan, that’s exactly what Witter did. On Alonso’s last possession before the break, he took the kickoff 70 yards, a return he capped off four plays later with a 10-yard dash to the end zone.
East Bay opened the third quarter by forcing back-to-back three-and-outs despite coughing it up on its first drive.
But just before what would be Alonso’s third scoring drive, the East Bay punter bobbled the snap, which resulted in good field position for the Ravens as the third quarter wound down.
After a 20-yard pickup from Witter, Alonso quarterback Chris Oladokun connected with wide receiver Brandon Robinson for a 42-yard touchdown pass. Immediately following an East Bay fumble on a punt return, Robinson caught another touchdown pass — a 20-yard rocket from Oladokun.
Anderson went down with an injury in the third quarter and running back Tyler Johnston took over at quarterback for the Indians. Turnovers forced the East Bay defense to occupy the field most of the night, and by the end, it appeared as if the Indians had all but given up. That allowed Alonso to deliver its final punch.
With less than five minutes remaining, Derrick Walker returned East Bay’s last punt of the night 50 yards for a touchdown.
After their big win, the Ravens gathered in the far end zone to await Emanuel’s postgame remarks. He addressed the defense first.
“Lights out,” Emanuel told his guys, their faces plastered with triumphant grins.
Those two words said it all.