Eisenhower Shows Why It’s No. 1 : Prep football: Rialto team, top-ranked in the nation, beats Pasadena Muir, 40-20.

The Rialto Eisenhower High football team is finding out that being the top-rated team in the nation has its drawbacks.

Every week, Eisenhower has to play with the added pressure of notoriety. Friday night, the Eagles had to hold off Pasadena Muir to win, 40-20, in a nonleague game at Eisenhower.

After falling behind, 20-0, in the first half, Muir cut the deficit to 27-14. But Eisenhower responded well in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 65-yard touchdown run by Marcus Soward and a 22-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Todd Carrigan.

“Our worst fear is us defeating ourselves,” Eisenhower quarterback Jevon Hicks said, who passed for a score and also played outside linebacker. “Once we got up on (Muir), we kind of let up. We had to get focused again in the end.”

Eisenhower (3-0) took command early with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive on its first possession. Omar Love gained 53 yards in three carries on the drive, which ended with a 17-yard scoring screen pass from Hicks to Soward.

After a punt by Muir, Eisenhower drove 89 yards in 12 plays to take a 14-0 lead on a one-yard run by Love, who finished with 153 yards in 16 carries.

The Eagles stretched their lead to 20-0 on 57-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Ryan Martinez with 2:38 remaining in the half.

Eisenhower’s streak of holding opponents scoreless ended at nine quarters when Muir scored with 33 seconds left in the second quarter on a 48-yard halfback option pass from Saladin McCullough to Ron Jones.

In the second half, Love scored on a 25-yard run to give the Eagles a 27-6 lead before Muir rallied behind McCullough, who finished with 136 yards rushing in 22 carries. McCullough’s 30-yard score and two-point conversion run closed Eisenhower’s lead to 27-14 late in the third quarter.

Eisenhower is 3-0 and Muir drops to 1-2.