Addison Lenhart is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sandra Day O’Connor for AZPreps365.com.

TEMPE -- Despite a fourth quarter rally, the  Sandra Day O’Connor Eagles came up short on the road at Corona del Sol on Friday, 26-21. 

The Eagles trailed 26-7 with 10:43 remaining in the fourth quarter but were able to cut the deficit to 26-14 with 8:55 left after a passing touchdown from quarterback Carson Craig to wide receiver Jake Gumbert. Craig, the third quarterback on the Eagles’ depth chart, replaced Kayl Oglesby after he went down with an injury in the first half.  

Down 26-14, O’Connor forced a Corona del Sol punt and took over at their own 38-yard line. Craig found Braylon Lopez for a 17-yard score to cap a five-play drive and trim the Aztecs’ lead to 26-21. 

The Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick to get possession back with 2:29 remaining and a chance to win the game.

O’Connor’s hopes ended on the following drive when Craig was picked off by Aztecs defensive back Landon Bickford for the second time. Craig finished the night 6 of 18 with 136 yards, two TDs and three interceptions, all of which came in the second half. 

O’Connor coach Ben Kullos praised his quarterback’s resilience in the fourth quarter. 

“We’re on quarterback number three right now, so really proud of the way Craig came in, battled and led the team,” Kullos said. “He made some mistakes but for him to get us back in this game was just amazing to see, and to see his teammates rally around him.” 

The Eagles were led on the ground by running back Jeremy Adeyanju, who carried the ball 14 times for 167 yards including a 62-yard touchdown run with 3:19 left in the second quarter to put O’Connor on the board. 

Adeyanju thought his team battled despite the defeat. 

“We definitely switched it up, we played hard for four quarters and we brought it back, so proud of us,” Adeyanju said. “We definitely need to reduce penalties. Those killed us, honestly.” 

O’Connor dropped to 1-3 on the season after the defeat, however Kullos doesn’t believe the Eagles’ record tells the true story of their season. 

“I just told our guys the difference between 1-3 and 3-1 is a handful of plays,”  Kullos said. “That’s probably the most frustrating part is knowing that we’re that close.”

Luke Farrell led the way offensively for Corona del Sol. Farrell completed 21 of 30 passes for  262 yards and totaled three touchdowns on the night, one coming on the ground. 

Corona del Sol coach Eric Lauer felt his quarterback was in command against the Eagles. 

“We want to try to give our quarterback as much of the offense as possible, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” Lauer said. “Things really slowed down for him tonight. He managed and kept us on time and on track for the most part and did a really good job.” 

Jamar Patterson and Jude Stevens came up big out wide for the Aztecs. Patterson had seven catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Stevens had three catches for 60 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown. 

Corona del Sol (2-2) visits Perry (2-2) at 7 p.m. Friday. 

O’Connor (1-3) heads to Chandler (3-1) at 7 p.m.Thursday.