Eagles soar over Barbarians, 30-14

Stan “The Man” Iakopo bulldozed the Barbarians defense by amassing 152 yards on the ground as the Express Electronics Eagles notched their first win in the 2005 Commonwealth Football Leage season on Saturday at the CPA Airport Field.

The Green Machine steamrolled its way into the win column by putting up 408 yards of offense on the unsuspecting Barbarians squad with a perfect mixture of precision passing and ruthless running.

Quarterback Dane Lizama found wide receiver Mark Wallace four times for 117 of his 153 yards through the air and finished the day 9-for-20 with a touchdown and an interception, but he didn’t have to do all of the work as all of his running backs were churning out yards like Anatahan does ash.

When Iakopo took a breather, there were seven others who contributed to the remaining 103 of the teams 255 total rushing yards. Soni Pomee gained 61 yards on six carries while Harris Taivero picked up 36 and a touchdown on five runs.

The Eagles look much different from the squad that failed to score on offense in its opening day loss to the Shell Lightning just a week before, as they were an unstoppable force on the gridiron. The time and effort spent in the week of preparation was evident right from the start as Lizama handed off to Iakopo for a 67-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game. Lizama converted for two when he found utility player Charleston Aiken to make the score 8-0 just seconds into the game.

“I felt pretty good. I’d like to thank the offensive line and the defense. We have to work concurrently. We felt pretty good today, we finally clicked, and it’s all the way. Whoever is going to be in the way, I feel sorry for them,” said Iakopo.

The way he was running, Iakopo could have gained more yardage but was used sparingly after cramps got the better of him.

Wallace’s leaping catches were a major reason for the success of Lizama’s aerial campaign, and he said that it was just a matter of time before the Eagles would find their rhythm.

“I feel good. Finally we got some time. All we needed was some time, and once we did it was all good. It was pretty hard, but I play basketball, and it was like a basketball thing,” he said.

The Barbarians had a decent running game of their own led two-way player Syl Teregeyo. The running back, defensive back, and wide receiver spent plenty of time lining up in the backfield as Plas Tagabuel’s Number One threat as he led the charge with 105 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 13 more through the air.

Despite their hard work and determination, the Barbarians took too much time to get into the groove as the Eagles were up 22-0 before Kelvin Fitial laid out to make a fingertip grab in the corner of the end zone for their first score of the game.

According to multipurpose player Asterio Tawanpiy, the 26 Barbarians played as a squad of iron men for most of the game without the benefit of a full bench, and the Eagles took advantage by laying down a number of high impact hits on anyone who crossed the line of scrimmage.

Hoots and hollers could be heard on both sides of the field when the Eagles pored on the pain, and while the pounding eventually took its toll on the black and gold, they were still able to better their offensive production from last week’s loss to the Tinian Typhoon by 17 yards with a total 186.

The Barbarians now have the week off to lick their wounds and reassess their offensive strategy in time for their match with the Lightning on Saturday, Oct. 15. With a head full of steam and a boat load of confidence, the Eagles will take the ferry to Tinian to challenge the Typhoon under the lights for the first evening game of the season this Saturday, Oct. 8, 7pm.