MidValleySports.Com

By Rich Whittington

(Arcadia) The Arcadia Football Team took advantage of “Big Play” opportunities Thursday evening defeating the visiting Hoover Tornados 42-27 in front of a very supportive Senior Night crowd at Richard Salter Stadium.

Arcadia cashed in on several plays of 25 plus yards. The first coming on the second offensive play of the game, when running back Ethan Drew Long scored on a 25-yard run. The extra point attempt was blocked making the score 6-0 with 11:27 remaining in the opening period.

Hoover answered with a score of its own when Dveen Aghanaian found the end zone on a 3-yard scoring blast. The point after was added by Jack Coppersmith, making the score 7-6 as the first quarter expired.

The Tornados extended their lead in the second period when Aghanaian put up his second 3-yard score of the evening. A second Coppersmith kick made it 14-6 with 7:37 remaining until the break.

Arcadia responded with their second “Big Play” of the evening when running back Michael Stephen Huang scored on a 61-yard run. The 2-point pass from quarterback Freddy Bysshe to wideout Aiden Reyes was successful tying the score at 14-14 with 6:30 remaining in the opening half.

Arcadia scored again in the quarter when Bysshe connected with tight end Joshua DeLuca for a 63-yard score. Bysshe also connected with DeLuca for the 2-point conversion making the score 22-14 at halftime.

The teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter. Hoover scored first as Aghanaian hit the end zone on a 2-yard blast. Arcadia answered when Huang got loose for his second TD of the contest on a 44-yard run. Both 2-point attempts were unsuccessful, making the score 28-20 after three quarters of play.

Arcadia pulled away in the final quarter with two more scores. The first coming on Long’s second touchdown of the evening…a 72-yard run to increase Arcadia’s advantage to 34-20 with 10:31 left in the game.

The Tornados’ Aghanaian rang up his fourth touchdown of the night on another 3-yard blast to cut the lead to 34-27 with 6:45 left in regulation.

Arcadia put the game away on their next series when running back Aaron Cerda bolted in on a 1-yard pop.

Bysshe then hit Huang for two points and it was 42-27 as the game came to an end.

Aghanaian had a big night for the Tornados, rushing for 228 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries. In a manner of speaking, Dveen was directly responsible for 24 of the 27 points that were scored by the team.

With the win Arcadia improved to 6-2, 2-0 in Crest League play. Now Arcadia will travel to Glendale next Friday night to play the Nitros. Hoover, 5-3, 0-1 in Crest League action looks to get back in the winning column when they host the Temple City Rams.