By the numbers, it was not a good middle or ending for Christian Faith Center against the Concrete Lions in a District I vs II playoff B-11 football game at Memorial Stadium in Federal Way Thursday afternoon

The hardest thing of all for why the Eagles lost this loser-out game in the worst way, 38-0 final, is the fact that they just did not have the numbers of their foe player-wise.

Concrete had double the number of players, exactly. That's a big difference in a high school football game.

"It's been that way all season," said head coach Sonny Savini, whose team of 18 guys suited up looked across the field to a lined up slew of purple and gold Lions jerseyed guys.

Actually, it's been a short-handed deal for Savini longer than just "all season" as he stated.

"I've been coaching for seven, eight years now here at Christian Faith, and we have had the same numbers every year, 18, 19 guys," said Savini.

Still, the Eagles finished this season second in their Sea-Tac 'B' league with a 4-2 league record, and, a 6-3 mark overall.

In the beginning, it was back and forth a possession or two each before the Lions scoring with 1:12 left in the first quarter to make it 7-0. Then Eagles running back Kameron Hillstrom, a 6-0, 210 senior, bulled his way through the Lions' defense for 14 yards on three straight plays of gaining 5, 4, 5 yard runs. And then, with Hillstrom's efforts getting the Eagles to the 33 yard line, quarterback Tyler Savini, a 5-6, 150 freshman, ran for eight yards on a keeper play. Just like that, the Eagles looked to be in business because they were staring at a first down and 10 situation on the Concrete 26 yard line. That was 26 yards to go until a touchdown!

Nope, not to be.

After Savini showed his youth with an interception on the second to next play, Concrete took over the momentum with that happening via taking the ball from the 6-yard line all the way into the end zone on an 11 play, 94 yard drive that elapsed 4:21 off the clock in the second quarter. And, it looked like, during that drive, that the Eagles would stop them.

One time Morgan Weisz took down the Lions' QB on a keeper for a 1-yard loss. Technically it was a sack since the QB was tackled behind the line of scrimmage. Then, the 5-7 junior got help from Zach Langdon, a 6-1, 220 defensive tackle who recorded a sack on the Lions' QB, an 8-yard loss. That made it the Lions with a third down and 18, with 2:49 showing on the clock left in the second quarter. All the Eagles needed was a stop here to get the ball back, but, from their own 41, the Lions did a trick play which was a pass, then a pitch out to a guy overlapping a run down the right sideline. That got the Lions 17 yards, so it was fourth and one. And, the Lions went four yards after that for the first down and pretty easily went into the endzone from the 35 yard line after that. It took three plays after the first down for the foe to score.

Then, up 14-0, the Lions either caught the Eagles napping or just tired and not ready for an onside kick, as the Lions recovered the ball after it went the customary 10 yards according to the rules.

With the ball, the Lions scored again on a field goal with one minute left before halftime to lead 17-0.

"The game was close for awhile, but we had some setbacks like losing one of our better players, who tore his ACL," said Hillstrom. "We worked and did all we could do. It was a good game."

It was tough without the 'better' player who was Cameron Savini, a senior running back who was all-league as a junior but tore his ACL in the third league game of the season against Seattle Lutheran on the first play of the Eagles in the first quarter.

That was tough to come back from, losing Savini, who did have his four year underclassman brother at quarterback.

He, as in Tyler Savini, did open up the Eagles' passing with a few nice throws downfield to Chad Ostrom, a 5-8, 155 junior, during the game.

"He's a hard worker," said Langdon. "He's going to be amazing."

Wide receiver Kenny Brown nearly came up with a catch from Savini that was on target in the corner of the end zone in the second quarter but the Lions' defensive back rose to the occasion, literally, jumping high like Brown to bat the ball away.

Concrete was a good team. As simple as that simple sentence.

"They were a very good team," said coach Savini. "They lost to Darrington by close scores twice during their season (15-14, 28-21) and Darrington I think is ranked No. 1 in the state and they are undefeated."

So Concrete was a tough first match playoff, and it will be tough to say anything but the facts of things getting ugly and uglier in the third and fourth quarters for the Eagles. Concrete scored midway through the third quarter on a 20-yard pass play, on a ball put up in the air and juggled but caught. That capping a 50-yard drive. And then with a minute left in the third it was Concrete's 4-yard run to the end zone that made it 31-0.

The final score for Concrete came in the fourth quarter midway through, another pass from Lions QB Chris Smith.

"We need more players," said coach Savini. "We didn't even have enough players to do 11 on 11 in practices."

But, all things figured in, the Eagles had a good season, beating a couple teams without the services of star running back Cameron Savini, and Langdon, Tyler Savini and Brown, are all young so there is quite a lot of promise for next season.