COSTA MESA – The “Brae-den” chants echoed throughout the home stands well before kickoff, almost as if the Calvary Chapel faithful knew they were in store for something special.
While he rarely saw the sideline Thursday night, Eagles senior running back Braeden Stack wound up delivering in all three facets of the game and gave a packed Calvary Chapel crowd plenty of reasons to bellow his name.
Stack accounted for 273 yards of total offense and scored three touchdowns, including a 77-yard scurry midway through the fourth quarter that proved to be the final dagger in the Eagles’ 35-25 win over Saddleback in an Orange Coast League game played at Estancia High.
The Eagles’ two-way star finished with 164 yards rushing on 15 carries and caught four passes for 109 more. Stack scored the game’s first touchdown on a 32-yard run, opened the second quarter with an 80-yard catch-and-score, and closed the contest with the decisive 77-yard scamper that put Calvary up by 18 with eight minutes to play.
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Postgame Talk: How Calvary Chapel topped Saddleback
“Braeden is always important for us, he’s a large key to our success” Eagles coach Chris Cox said. “Three and 0 in league now. Don’t know if we’ve done that in a while, so it’s good stuff.”
In topping the Roadrunners, Calvary (5-3) has now defeated last season’s first- and second-place finishers from the Orange Coast League. A 23-21 win over Estancia two weeks ago has made the Eagles prohibitive favorites to capture the crown with games against Laguna Beach and Costa Mesa remaining.
Calvary Chapel backup quarterback Sam Lak tossed for 301 yards in his first career start. The junior’s three touchdown strikes all came in the first half from 66, 80 and 17 yards out.
Saddleback (4-4, 1-2) running back Geovanni Estrada turned in a gutsy performance, rushing for 96 yards on 27 carries.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
