CONCORD – Host and Northern California No. 5 Clayton Valley (4-1) used its vaunted running game and a stingy second half defense to overcome 10-0 first quarter and 17-14 halftime deficits in a hard fought 21-17 victory over the visitors from the other side of Mt. Diablo in Danville.
There was only one score in the second half, and it was a 1-yard leaping dive over the pile by Clayton Valley quarterback Luis Ramos. With the Ugly Eagles facing fourth-and-goal with 5:06 left in the game, Ramos went airborne for the game-winning touchdown after being stopped for short gains trying to pierce the line on the previous three plays.
“Their line was going down low so I decided to jump over them,” Ramos remarked.
Ramos, a senior running quarterback that carried 26 times for 97 yards and the one score, is part of a two-player rushing tandem along with running back Ray Jackson III.
The 14-play, 80-yard drive that sealed the deal came after an interception in the end zone by Jake Peralta, but had there not been some heroics by Robert Carson and Jackson at critical times, the Ugly Eagles may very well have fallen to a no-quit group of Mustangs.
On third-and six from their own 34-yard line Ramos faked to Jackson and instead gave the ball to Carson for his first and only carry of the game. Carson responded by gaining seven yards and a first down. Then on fourth-and-four from their 47-yard line, Ramos threw his one and only pass of the game, and not surprisingly it found Carson for eight yards and another first down.
The next play was one for the highlight reels. On his final carry of the night Jackson broke five tackles and seemingly was nearly down three times but fought his way for 36-yards to the nine yard line. From there Ramos did the rest.
Jackson, a 5-10, 190-pound senior that has been playing while healing from a broken wrist and a rolled ankle, carried 32 times for 199 yards and two touchdowns, including a 49-yard run that produced Clayton Valley’s first score. It was his most carries of the season.
“It was my first game getting that many carries but I knew what my team needed me to do in a game like this,” Jackson said.
Some of the chit-chat has knocked Jackson and his running style, but against Monte Vista he silenced the naysayers, and if he was banged up it certainly didn’t show on Friday night.
“People told me he wasn’t tough and he couldn’t be taught how to run hard and break tackles. Well, he’s proving them all wrong,” Clayton Valley Coach Tim Murphy told Prep2Prep.
Even after Clayton Valley scored the game-winner Monte Vista (4-1) was anything but finished.
After a touchback on the ensuing kickoff Mustangs standout junior quarterback Jake Haener went to work. He completed three of his first four passes of the drive to Noah Sol to get down to the Ugly Eagles 37-yard line.
Unfortunately for the Monte Vista faithful, Haener was sacked on the next three plays for 30-yards in losses. Facing fourth-and-40 he completed a 33-yard pass to Traehone Banda who fought for the extra yards needed but came up short.
Two of the Clayton Valley sacks of Haener were by junior Heikoti Vaisima. He also had two half sacks in the first half to finish with three. The other two sacks were by Bryce Brand.
Haener was 22-of-41 for 248 yards and two touchdowns, but he was sacked five times and intercepted once.
Sol had 13 catches for 104 yards including the first Mustangs touchdown on a two-yard reception from Haener. Banda caught seven passes for 123 yards. The other Monte Vista touchdown came on a roll-out by Haener who found Garrett Fitzgerald on a 10-yard TD pass.
An interesting note in the game is Clayton Valley converted on five fourth downs, but failed three times, including a decision to go for it on their own 21-yard line in the first quarter that led to the Monte Vista touchdown that put the Ugly Eagles in the 10-0 hole.
“It wasn’t our best performance offensively but we came through when we needed to and the defense came up huge,” Murphy remarked. “You also have to give credit to Monte Vista. They’re a darn good football team and played us pretty tough.”
From here these are two teams going down pretty different paths.
Clayton Valley begins Diablo Valley Athletic League action where they are not expected to get much of a challenge. Then will come the CIF North Coast Section Division II playoffs where if they run the table in league and then the playoffs Murphy and his boys could be looking at a very high seed in the new CIF Northern Regional Bowl Game selection process.
After a win two weeks ago over Livermore to begin East Bay Athletic League play, Monte Vista goes back to EBAL action to face a host and 4-1 Amador Valley-Pleasanton in anything but a gimme. That’s followed by a home date with NorCal No. 8 Foothill-Pleasanton, a 24-0 winner on Friday night over San Ramon Valley-Danville.
As far as the playoffs the road for Monte Vista and all the Division I EBAL teams goes through De La Salle.
