Donovan Fells’ 45-yard fumble return for a touchdown sparked a dominant defensive performance in the second half by visiting Antioch, as the Panthers scored the final 36 points of the game in a 36-14 victory over host Heritage on Friday night.
Trailing 15-14 early in the third quarter, Heritage’s defense came up with a big stop when Josh Wishom snagged his second interception of the game, giving the Patriots the ball on their own two-yard line. Two plays later, on third down from their own five, Luke Lang connected with Hassan Williams for a 35-yard gain, presumably handing momentum back to the Heritage side.
On second down from its own 45-yard line, however, disaster struck for the Patriots, when Aidan Quinn’s fumble was scooped up by Fells, who outraced all pursuers for a big touchdown and a 22-14 lead for the Panthers.
Two drives later, as the third quarter was nearing a close, Heritage attempted a fake punt on fourth down, falling a yard short of the sticks, allowing Antioch (5-1, 1-0 BVAL) to take possession at midfield. After driving to the Patriots’ 20-yard line, Antioch faced a crucial third-and-21 from the 31-yard line, and quarterback Willem Karnthong scrambled out of trouble to gain 23 yards and a first down. A play later, after a penalty, Omari Harris scored from four yards out to extend the lead to 29-14.
“(Willem) saw the opening and took off running, and the great athlete that he is, it gave us another opportunity to put it in the end zone,” said Antioch coach John Lucido.
The Panthers defense put the game out of reach less than 40 seconds later, when Ti’yahti Harris stepped in front of a Lang pass and returned it 45 yards for a score, putting the exclamation mark on the victory for the Panthers.
Heritage started fast in the game, as Lang’s one-yard run gave the Patriots (5-2, 0-2) an early 7-0 lead, and his 23-yard touchdown pass to Wishom made it 14-0 at the end of one quarter.
But Antioch responded in the second quarter, when Harris’ one-yard run capped a 69-yard drive early in the quarter, and Karnthong connected with Isaiah Avery for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 2:38 remaining in the first half to give the Panthers a 15-14 lead at the break. Harris’ scoring run was preceded by his 33-yard burst, and Dalaan Green added a two-point conversion.
“We knew we were going to try and bring pressure on the quarterback, and we didn’t really get to him in the first half, and they took advantage of some one-on-one coverage,” Lucido said. “We changed things up a bit after that, used some more zone and combo coverage, and that’s what led to that pick-six by Ti’yahti.”
Lang led the Heritage offense with 244 yards through the air, but 143 of those yards came in the first half, and his final eight attempts resulted in seven incompletions and an interception. Williams had five catches for 106 yards.
Karnthong had 137 passing yards and 97 rushing yards to pace Antioch’s offense, while Harris and Green combined for 91 more yards on the ground. Avery had four catches for 50 yards.
Monte Vista powers past Dougherty Valley
Monte Vista scored 30 first-half points en route to a dominating 46-7 win over Dougherty Valley on Friday.
Zane Cribb ran for two touchdowns, and John Giagiari answered Dougherty Valley’s only touchdown of the game by returning the ensuing kickoff for a score, early in the second quarter. Giagiari also scored on an 11-yard touchdown reception late in the second quarter, as the Mustangs cruised to the win.
Cribb and McGuire Chang each scored on the ground in the third quarter, and Matt Hofmann added a pair of field goals in the win.
Northgate dominates league opener against College Park
Northgate blitzed College Park in the DAL-Valley opener for both programs, scoring the first 41 points and cruising to the 41-7 Homecoming victory.
Junior Jack Fulp threw for three scores, two of them to Semisi Saluni, as the Broncos led 35-0 by halftime and had no trouble in a surprisingly one-sided game, handing the Falcons their second straight loss after College Park won its first four games. Northgate has now won five in a row.
German Acosta added a 60-yard touchdown off a fumble recovery, while junior Stephen Bond and sophomore Jonathan Campbell each scored on short runs.
Harker defense pitches fifth shutout
Harker improved to 7-0 this season, winning for the fifth time by shutout, as the Eagles cruised past Tamalpais, 38-0.
Nate Kelly threw for four touchdown passes in the victory, two each to Floyd Gordon and Anthony Contreras, while Dominic Cea added a 34-yard field goal in the win, which is a new school record for wins in a season at Harker.
Dublin gets big EBAL win over Livermore
Tre Hines’ touchdowns pass to Marcos Hoy late in the second quarter gave Dublin a 15-point halftime lead, and the defense took over from there, holding the Cowboys scoreless in the second half for the 24-6 victory.
Hines and Hoy connected twice in the game, Jayden Clark added a short rushing touchdown, and Jason White drilled a third-quarter field goal, as the Gaels improved to 3-3 overall this year under first-year coach Matt Hoefs, 1-3 in league play. Livermore dropped to identical records.
Liberty surges past Deer Valley
Tyerell Sturges-Cofer’s 22-yard touchdown run with 3:01 remaining completed a big fourth-quarter comeback for Liberty, which rallied for the 36-35 win over Deer Valley.
Deer Valley, which has not won a BVAL game since 2013, led 35-23 early in the fourth quarter, but Sturges-Cofer cut into the lead by taking a shovel pass from Ryan Dutt into the end zone from five yards out, midway through the fourth, cutting the lead to five points. Sturges-Cofer scored four touchdowns in the win.
Dutt added a touchdown pass to Sione Vaki, as the Lions improved to 6-1 overall, 2-0 in BVAL play.
