Published: August 29, 2009 11:15 am      

Eagles drop opener, 20-13, against Tolar at home

RIO VISTA — The Tolar Rattlers and several penalties came back to bite the Rio Vista Eagles when they fell, 20-13, late on Friday at Rio Vista High School.

The contest was the first regular game for Eagles’ new head coach Craig Carpenter.

Rio Vista of District 15-2A went 4-6 and 1-4 in district last season while Tolar of District 15-1A went 3-7 and 2-3 in district.

The beginning looked dim for the Eagles with two false starts and a near interception after a fumble before tight end Zach Rollins pounced on the ball, saving Rio Vista from an early turnover.

The offense slowly worked its way up the field with small rushes by quarterback Cooper Ferguson and tailback Marshall Hicks.

Seven minutes into the first quarter, Ferguson squeezed through the Rattlers defensive line, but fumbled into the end zone where it was recovered by Thomas Johnston for the score.

Rio Vista head coach Craig Carpenter said there is still work left to be done.

“We’ve got to continue to clean up our execution, knowing assignments, where we can be more aggressive and not have to think so much about what we’re doing,” Carpenter said. “Probably No. 1 from the night is cleaning up the penalty yardage.”

After Ferguson hit Chaz Clinkscales with a 3-yard touchdown pass, Tanner Gilliam hit Miles Thetford for a 3-yard strike to cut the lead to 13-6.

In the third quarter, Thetford knotted the score up for Tolar with a 46-yard touchdown reception with 5:29 remaining.

Nick Turner gave the Rattlers the lead for good with 4:34 remaining in the fourth quarter with an 8-yard scoring scamper.

Carpenter didn’t let the loss affect his admiration for his team.

“On the offensive side, Cooper Ferguson, our quarterback, did well and we had several receivers make good catches,” he said.

Aaron Rodrick, T.J. Justice and Hicks were other players of note, he said.

“I told the team I was very proud of the effort. I thought we came out and played extremely hard, played with lots of heart, did lots of good things. We’re well on our way to establishing what we want,” Carpenter said.

The Eagles rushed for 46 yards on 24 carries while Tolar amassed 170 yards on 39 carries.

Rio Vista aired out 152 yards passing on Ferguson’s 12-of-25 effort with one interception, while Gilliam finished 5-of-9 with 82 yards passing.

The Eagles will travel to Millsap on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and will look to even their record at 1-1.