Soap Lake loses 22-0 to Bridgeport
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 6 months AGO
Soap Lake’s Sam Schopf (22) runs to the outside during the Eagles’ 22-0 loss to Bridgeport Friday.
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald
Soap Lake running back Anthony Contreras (53) fights off a Bridgeport defender.
The Soap Lake defense stacks up a Bridgeport running back during the Eagles’ 22-0 loss to the Mustangs.
Eagles running back Robby Fisher (10) breaks into the open field during the Soap Lake-Bridgeport game.
Sam Schopf (22) hands off to Giovanni Campos (15) on a reverse play that went for a big gain during the Soap Lake-Bridgeport game Friday.
Accompanied by his blockers, Soap Lake’s Sam Schopf (with football) heads downfield during the Eagles’ 22-0 loss to Bridgeport Friday.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | September 17, 2022 11:10 AM
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles came close, but they couldn’t quite get into the end zone, losing to the Bridgeport Mustangs 22-0 Friday in Soap Lake.
“We had some mistakes, some penalties, that really hurt us,” said first-year head coach Garrett Devine.
With under a minute left in the game, receiver Alex Bustos got behind the Bridgeport defense, caught a pass from quarterback Jairo Lopez, and took the ball into the end zone for an 80-yard touchdown - only to have the play called back on a penalty. Devine said miscommunication on a play near Bridgeport’s goal line that led to a Mustang defensive stop also cost the Eagles.
A mishandled ball on a play deep in Soap Lake territory ended with Lopez being tackled in the end zone for a Bridgeport safety. Bridgeport also scored late in the game when Brandon Garcia intercepted Lopez and returned the ball about 60 yards for a touchdown.
Soap Lake did have some offensive success, fooling the Bridgeport defense with a couple of reverses and gaining significant yardage on some pass plays.
“We had some big plays, some big runs, but we just couldn’t capitalize,” Devine said.
But the Eagles, a very young team, made some progress. Devine said he was pretty pleased with the defensive play in particular.
The Eagle linebackers played well, he said, and the defensive line did a good job stopping the Mustang running game.
Bridgeport scored its first touchdown on a run by Tyrel Tonseth with about 8:29 left in the first quarter. The Eagles held on the two-point conversion attempt.
Garcia scored on an 80-yard pass with 5:18 left in the second quarter, but the Eagles defense stopped the Mustangs on the two-point try. Bridgeport led 12-0 at the half. That was the last score until the Bridgeport defense tackled Lopez for the safety, the interception return and successful two-point conversion, which resulted in the 22-0 final.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Devine said. “But there was a lot of stuff I really liked.”
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
BOX SCORE
Bridgeport 6-6-0-10 22
Soap Lake 0-0-0-0 0
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