The Aragon Dons’ defense showed up Friday night and the result was an overwhelming 61-28 win over visiting Hillsdale in the Battle of the Fleas.
On the first play of the game, J.D. Elzie picked off Hillsdale quarterback Cole Carrithers and returned it 30 yards before he was brought down. And that was only the beginning, as the game was defined by the Dons’ takeaways. Many of the Knights’ turnovers cost them and almost all of them led to scoring drives by the Dons. Some were caused by inaccurate throws while other takeaways were forced by great defensive plays.
This game could have been much worse for the Knights. In the first quarter alone the Dons dropped three would-be interceptions, two of which could have been returned for touchdowns.
“Our defense could have done a lot better, we had many missed opportunities," Aragon defensive lineman Jeremy Wint said. "But week to week we get better and better. Tonight was a milestone in making the playoffs but we have a lot of work to do in order to compete in the playoffs."
Defensive lineman David Manoa came up with some great defensive plays and the entire defensive line stuffed the run.
"We’ve been working really hard and our goal was to make it to the playoffs." Manoa said. "But, we’re not going to stop there. We’re going to keep working hard and take it week by week and see how far we can go.”
Even the Dons’ junior quarterback Nat Blood complimented the defense by saying: “The defense played well from the beginning. They shut them out the entire game which took pressure off the offense”.
The Dons will be heading to the Central Coast Sectional playoffs where the team’s chances will ride on their stellar defense. First up for Aragon will be an opening round game at Leland.
