Granada junior Octavio Morales punctuated a big night with a pair of sacks at the end of the Matadors’ 27-24 win over Monte Vista, pushing the Mustangs out of field goal range and sealing a key EBAL victory on Friday.
The Matadors (4-3, 2-3 EBAL) had built a 27-17 lead after junior Zack MacIntire returned a kickoff for a touchdown, but Monte Vista cut the lead back to three points when Scott Chen found Rutchena for his second touchdown pass of the game.
The Mustangs then drove deep into Granada territory, penetrating the red zone down to the 15-yard line before Morales got into the backfield and dropped Chen for consecutive losses.
After leading 10-9 at halftime, Granada extended the lead on the first drive of the third quarter, when Morales broke loose for a 60-yard run. Following a Monte Vista fumble, the Matadors then pushed the lead to 20-9 when Morales drilled his second field goal of the night. The Mustangs (4-3, 3-3) responded after an Andy Yi interception, as Chen found John Giagiari for the score, but that just led to MacIntire’s big kickoff return.
“We made plays in critical situations tonight,” said Granada coach Tim Silva. “We didn’t do that in the loss to Amador Valley, a game we should have won. But tonight we came up with those big plays, and it was great to see us get it done.”
It appeared that Monte Vista would take the lead before halftime when Matt Hoffman connected on a field goal that would have given the Mustangs a 12-10 advantage. There was a penalty on Granada, however, and the Mustangs opted to take the points back off the board and go for the touchdown. That strategy backfired when Zack Voisin stepped in front of a Chen pass for an interception, preserving the one-point lead at the time.
Granada took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter when Morales nailed his first field goal of the night, but Hoffman added his own three points to tie the game in the second quarter. Zane Cribb then scored on the ground to give the Mustangs a 9-3 lead, before MacIntire added a rushing touchdown for the Granada lead.
“I was not surprised by the big play of Morales and MacIntire tonight,” Silva added. “These guys are football smart, and have shown us their ability to make these types of big plays.”
Granada hosts California next week. Monte Vista needs one more win this season to become playoff eligible, facing De La Salle, San Ramon Valley, and California in the next three weeks.
Amador Valley becomes playoff eligible
Amador Valley methodically marched past Dublin on Friday, 24-3, picking up its fifth win and clinching playoff eligibility in the process.
Dublin led 3-0 after one quarter, on a Jason White field goal, but the Dons took the lead in the second quarter with a Collin Tamas field goal and a touchdown pass late in the half from Dominick Mazzotti to Tommy Kramer, for the 10-3 lead.
The Dons went on a six minute drive to open the third quarter, culminating in a touchdown run by Mazzotti. The junior quarterback then connected with Kramer again in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
“Our defense played great (tonight), and Jason Severance did a great job running hard for us on offense,” said Amador Valley coach Danny Jones. “The playoffs are a great accomplishment, but we are focused on Livermore now. Our senior leadership has been great.”
Amador Valley hosts Livermore next week, while Dublin hosts unbeaten San Ramon Valley.
SRV stays unbeaten with rout over Livermore
A Homecoming victory was never in doubt for San Ramon Valley, which built a 42-point halftime lead on its way to the 49-7 win over Livermore.
Senior quarterback Clark Baker connected for first quarter touchdown passes to Michael Winaker and Austin Arends, and Daniel Medley put the game out of reach early with three touchdown runs in the second quarter, including a 30-yard burst.
Jake Burton put the exclamation point on a dominant first half, returning an interception 30 yards for a touchdown, his second straight week with a defensive touchdown. Jason Javier broke loose for a 75-yard run in the third quarter to cap the Wolves’ scoring. Senior Anthony Hergert scored Livermore’s only touchdown of the night, hauling in a 28-yard scoring pass in the third quarter.
“Our kids really wanted to play their Homecoming game, and were excited for the opportunity considering there was a good chance we were not going to play,” said San Ramon Valley coach Aaron Becker. “Our defense was dominant, and Daniel (Medley) and Clark (Baker) had big nights again for us on offense.”
Baker completed all eight of his passes, for 176 yards and two touchdowns, while Medley ran for 101 yards on 11 carries and Javier had 120 yards on seven carries.
California blows past Dougherty for Homecoming win
California scored the final 42 points of the night to pull away from Dougherty Valley for a 49-7 victory on Friday.
The Grizzlies opened the game with a little trickery, when receiver Daniel Grays-Yang connected with Gary Wendschlag for a 42-yard scoring pass on their first offensive play, pulling up to throw off a jet sweep handoff.
Hugh Savage and Jacob Levers each added scoring runs in the first half, and Ryan Wright capped the half with a touchdown pass to senior tight end Chris Henry, for a 28-7 lead at the break.
Savage added a couple more scoring runs in the third quarter before Christian Velasquez capped the scoring with his fourth-quarter run.
“This wasn’t an easy week, being in limbo all week. We didn’t know if we could practice outside each day or if we’d play tonight,” said California coach Eric Billeci. “We finally got the okay today at 11:30 in the morning, and we were very grateful. I thought our offensive and defensive lines played really well and set the tone.”
