Avalon Limo Drive of the Game: Cedar Creek’s second-quarter TD was knockout blow against Buena

Cedar Creek jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead on Friday night at Buena Regional before the Chiefs were able to get their bearings and settle down a little bit. Touchdowns by Ahmir Mitchell and Bo Melton gave the visiting Pirates the early lead, then Cedar Creek got the ball right back by recovering an onsides kick. But Buena’s Resean Cruz picked off a Jesse Milza pass to stop the initial bleeding. Buena was forced to punt on the ensuing possession, however, setting up this week’s Avalon Limo Drive of the Game. Cedar Creek got the ball back late in the second quarter and marched 80 yards to score and extend the lead to 21-0, essentially taking control of a game the Pirates would go on to win 34-13. The drive started with a quick screen pass from Milza to Louie Pitale, then Milza found Isiah Watson for a 31-yard gain that brought the ball down to the Buena Regional 39-yard line. Milza then hit Melton over the middle with a pass play that set the Pirates up at the 15. Another quick pass to Melton brought the ball down to the 7-yard line, and after an incomplete pass, Pitale ran the ball down to the 1 on a sweep right. Senior Louie Pitale had a key run that set up Ahmir Mitchell’s 1-yard scoring run late in the first half that gave Cedar Creek a 21-0 lead over Buena on Friday night. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) That set up Mitchell taking the ball in the backfield and going off-tackle for a touchdown. Pat Moran’s extra point pushed the lead to 21-0, and a Pitale touchdown run early in the third quarter made it 27-0 before Buena Regional got on the scoreboard. Cedar Creek’s diversity among its skill position players was on display during that drive. Melton showed his playmaking ability when getting the ball in space as a wide receiver, and Mitchell showed he can be just as effective out of the backfield as a running back when needed. And Pitale proved he can be the kind of change-of-pace receiver the Pirates need when defenses focus too much of their attention on Mitchell and Melton. “(Melton’s) confidence is just growing. He had a move where he made a couple of guys miss and I’ve never seen him do that, so his confidence in what he can do is growing,” Watson said after the game. “It’s awesome to watch. All these guys are competitive. They have love for each other, but they are competitive. When he sees Ahmir shine or making moves, he’s going to want to do the same thing. And we have guys like Louie (Pitale) and Kahmir (Harvey) who maybe get overlooked a little bit and I think that motivates them. Even now, the talk is all about Bo and Ahmir without any mention of them, and they are doing a great job. So we feel like all of those guys, given the opportunity, can be playmakers.”