Pueblo East’s Kain Medrano steals show against Palmer Ridge
There was no shortage of star power on display for Friday night’s showdown between Pueblo East and Palmer Ridge at Don Breese Stadium but no player shined brighter than the Eagles’ Kain Medrano.
The UCLA commit did a little, or a lot, of everything for the visitors, who held on for a 28-21 win over the defending Class 3A state champions Bears (1-2).
Medrano was on the receiving end of three of five interceptions from Palmer Ridge quarterback Ty Evans, a future Pac 12 opponent who’s committed to Colorado.
“He’s a great quarterback,” Medrano said. “I’m not taking anything away from him, but you know, at the end of the day, (I) just read the plays better.”
Medrano also regularly hauled in passes, one for a long touchdown late in the first half and handled the punting duties, including one fake that extended a drive, in addition to being the last line of the Pueblo East defense.
The Bears had a chance to tie the contest on the game’s final play, but Evans’ Hail Mary was knocked down by No. 5 in white, capping a big night for the Pueblo East senior.
Palmer Ridge opened the scoring late in the first quarter after an interception and return deep into Pueblo East territory by senior linebacker Charlie Deeds. A couple plays later, Evans put a ball through traffic on Kaden Dudley’s chest for the opening touchdown.
Dudley picked off Pueblo East quarterback Luc Andrada on the Eagles’ next possession, but Evans gave it right back with his second interception of the half.
Andrada used his speed on a scramble that was extended by a personal foul before scoring on a draw play to even things early in the second quarter.
Andrada would give the Eagles a 21-14 halftime advantage; bookending a physical Raef Ruel touchdown with long touchdown passes to Kaden Bowman and Kain Medrano, respectively.
The long ball to Medrano, on a play the Eagles drew up earlier, came in the final minute of the half.
“We were going to save it, but I thought it was open,” Medrano said. “So you know, we had to make the most of it.”
Medrano’s third interception, which he returned for a touchdown on one of the first plays of the second half, proved to be the Eagles’ final points of night.
The Bears defense, especially an aggressive front seven led by JC Sparks, Aidan Cullen, Colton Dill and Jacob Dillon kept Palmer Ridge in the game throughout despite a total of seven turnovers.
“I’m very proud of the way our defense executed all night long,” Palmer Ridge coach Tom Pulford said. “There’s some times we didn’t put them in a good situation, field position wise, but our defense played extremely well all night long.”
Junior running back Raef Ruel scored twice for the Bears, including the score that made it 28-21 with 7:53 left in the third.
While the Bears failed to force overtime despite multiple chances, the coach of last year’s undefeated champs says everything is still on the table for his team.
“Adversity builds character, right? And character helps us to improve and stick together and move forward,” Pulford said. “Everything is still in front of us. We’ve played some very good football teams. We know what this team is capable of. Now it’s time to go back and improve on the things we’ve identified.”
Palmer Ridge’s Charles Deeds (25) hits open ground against Pueblo East with some backfield blocks during the Bears 21-28 loss to the Eagles on Friday, Sept. 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Kearney, Special to The Gazette)
Palmer Ridge’s Charles Deeds (25) hits open ground against Pueblo East with some backfield blocks during the Bears 21-28 loss to the Eagles on Friday, Sept. 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Kearney, Special to The Gazette)