After a promising start to the season, the Bourgade Catholic Golden Eagles have encountered a roadblock on their path to the postseason.

The Golden Eagles (5-3) were one of the hottest teams in 3A between Sept. 6 and Oct. 4, when they won five consecutive games in convincing fashion.

Since opening their regional schedule, Bourgade Catholic has suffered two painful losses: a 54-25 defeat at Yuma Catholic and a loss at home against Odyssey Institute where they held a lead at halftime but failed to score in the second half.

“It’s a gut check,” senior linebacker/wide receiver Mason McDowell said after the loss to Odyssey. “It just didn’t work for us.”

A key factor in Bourgade Catholic’s recent struggles has been the absence of regular starting quarterback Louie Lopez, who last played in the Golden Eagles’ 35-23 win over Gilbert Christian on Oct. 4.

Junior Matthew Espinoza is the man tasked with filling the enormous void left by Lopez, who had thrown for over 1700 yards and 20 touchdowns before being sidelined.

Lopez also added 135 yards on the ground to go along with three rushing touchdowns over the first six games of the season.

Bourgade Catholic’s offense appears to still be adjusting to their new signal caller. In the two games without Lopez they have averaged just 17 points a game and lack the explosive, big-play ability that he provides.

Statistics notwithstanding, the team has made it clear that they will rally behind Espinoza for the final two regular season games and anything that may come afterward.

“We believe in Matt,” McDowell said. “We’re giving him as much of a shot as Louie.”

Despite the immense pressure of being Bourgade’s starting quarterback, Espinoza insists that he is purely focused on winning games and being a good teammate.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “These seniors are doing great stuff this year and I don’t want them to get beat while I’m in.”

Although he played in several games earlier this season in relief of Lopez, Espinoza admitted that he was still adjusting to his new role.

“The toughest part has been getting used to varsity and how quick the pace is,” Espinoza said. “That and just getting chemistry with my receivers and my line.”

In order to take pressure off of Espinoza and diversify their offense, Bourgade Catholic has been running the ball more often in the recent going. Split-back sets featuring both Josh Dreher and Ismael Alvizo have been commonplace since Espinoza took over the starting job.

“We want to get the ball in our playmakers’ hands,” said head coach Marcel Lopez. “When you have a running back like Josh Dreher it really opens things up to the outside.”

With the stakes are as high as can be, the Golden Eagles have their sights squarely set on winning their next two games, both against regional opponents.

“It’s the last time our seniors are going to get out there and put in some work against our rivals,” McDowell said. “It’s a big motivator for us."