Liam Pasten erupts for 309 passing yards & 5 passing TDs in the victory

After losing their first two games by a combined thirteen points, the Eagle Rock Eagles earned their first win of the 2025 season in a 35-10 road victory over Bell last week. 

The Eagles faced another challenge away from their home field in the undefeated, explosive Taft Toreadors led by senior quarterback Nathan Swinson, who was leading the CIF L.A. City Section in passing yards heading into Friday night’s matchup. Eagle Rock unleashed an explosive offensive attack against the Toreadors, as they scored a touchdown on all six first half possessions, only punting the ball one time in the outing. Senior quarterback Liam Pasten put together an exceptional display on the field with 309 passing yards and five touchdowns through the air with three scores thrown to senior wideout Brandon Ruffolo to bring the Eagles back to .500 early in the season. 

Following a 394-yard performance through the air last week, Pasten and the Eagle Rock offense went down the field right away on the first play of the game with a long 66-yard completion to set up his team in goal territory on the 8-yard line. Eagle Rock head coach Andy Moran credited Pasten’s improvisation ability on the play in the postgame interview, “They [Taft] did not do what we expected and he had to go off script, and he was able to find an open receiver.” Two plays later, Eagle Rock senior tailback Melion Busano ran it in for a 1-yard touchdown score to give his team an 8-0 lead after the successful two-point conversion attempt.  

Taft turned the ball over on downs on their opening offensive possession and proceeded to surrender a first down due to a backbreaking third down offsides penalty. On the next play, Pasten threw his first touchdown of the night to Ruffolo on a 30-yard score to put the Eagles up 15-0 with 7:34 left in the opening quarter. Down two scores on their home field, the Toreadors responded by successfully converting on two fourth down situations on their next offensive drive. Reaching goal territory, Swinson threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Sammy Peery to trim the deficit to 15-6 after the missed extra point. 

Unshaken by the response from Taft, Eagle Rock kept their foot on the gas on the offensive end, only needing four plays to put the ball in the end zone once again as Pasten threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to senior running back Aaron Diaz to once again make it a two-score game. Following a three-and-out on the defensive end, the Eagles offense continued to put the ball into the hands of Ruffolo throughout the drive – he finished with five catches for 82 yards to go along with his three touchdown grabs. On the first play of the second quarter, Ruffolo hauled in his second touchdown of the night on an 8-yard score to give the Eagles a commanding 28-6 lead. 

With their backs against the wall, Taft desperately looked to crawl back into the game on the fourth play of their next possession as Swinson threw a long 60-yard touchdown pass to Peery for his second score of the night. Despite their attempts to stay in the game, the Toreadors defense could not contain the Eagles offense, and were unable to get off the field when they surrendered a fourth down conversion on a pass completion to Busano. Pasten proceeded to throw his second touchdown pass of the quarter to Ruffolo on the next play for a 25-yard score to give Eagle Rock a 35-13 advantage. 

The Eagles defense tightened up the screws on their side of the ball, forcing two Taft punts on their last two possessions of the period. Eagle Rock continued to pour it on offensively as they reached the end zone on both of their remaining offensive possessions for a perfect first half. Senior wideout Jason Terrazas hauled in a 25-yard touchdown followed by a 10-yard rushing score from Diaz to send the Eagles into the locker room with an insurmountable 49-13 halftime lead. 

Due to the lopsided score, the officials moved the game to a running clock for the duration of the second half. Taft reached the end zone on their opening drive of the half courtesy of an 8-yard red zone touchdown catch from senior wideout Erik Koron. Eagle Rock running back Nathan Schiebler shared a piece of the wealth in the ground game in the third quarter as he pounded the rock towards a breakout 35-yard touchdown run for the final points of the contest in the 56-21 win. 

Moran was impressed by the leadership displayed from his starting quarterback Pasten, who has been a four-year varsity starter in the Eagle Rock football program. “I thought what he did best tonight was lead.”, he explained, “ He knows how to play but I think he’s a quiet leader. Tonight, I was really impressed with the things he had to say.” 

Pasten further expounded in the postgame interview about his emphasis to his team on the importance of focusing on the little things in building towards their success, and credited his offensive line and receivers for their efforts on the field. 

Eagle Rock will seek their third consecutive win as they travel to Marquez for a Friday night showdown. Taft will begin play in the highly competitive West Valley League when they host Granada Hills on Friday at 7:00 pm.

All photos by VST Senior Photographer Benjamin Becher