COLUSA, CA (MPG) – With a rivalry dating back to 1923, it’s safe to say that the Colusa and Pierce football teams have come to know each other fairly well and that emotions run high when they face off against each other.
Such was exactly the case last Friday night at Yeghoian Field as the Bears tethered the RedHawks, leading to a 7-27 setback in the Sacramento Valley League opener for both teams.
It was a particularly inauspicious start for Colusa, as it found itself down 0-7 just 15 seconds into the contest after Pierce’s Jonathan Vazquez returned the opening kickoff 96 yards to the house for the game’s first points.
touchdown.
But things got worse for the RedHawks, when on their second play from scrimmage they fumbled the snap, which was recovered by Pierce’s Austin Jorge at the Colusa 21 yard line.
Then on the ensuing play Jorge, the Bear quarterback, threaded the needle with a pass to receiver Colin Dye for Pierce’s second touchdown, just 37 seconds after the first.
Finding themselves down 0-14 less than a minute into the game, things looked grim for the RedHawks, who were set to punt from their own end zone, but the Bears were flagged for roughing the kicker, the first of several miscues that changed the complexion of the game.
And while those errors did not ultimately impact the overall outcome, it did serve as an impetus for Colusa to keep fighting, which to its credit it did for the remainder of the contest.
Although neither side gained much traction for the rest of the first quarter, Pierce scored again on the first play of the second period when Nate Macintosh weaved his way into the endzone from 27 yards away.
On a night where the Bears were short running backs, Macintosh led Bears’ offense with eight carries for 97 yards and a touchdown.
While they were the last points Pierce would score in the first half, the RedHawks, who turned the ball over once and punted three times in their previous possessions, put together their best drive of the night in the final minutes of the first half.
Having held Pierce short of the line to gain on a fourth and six, Colusa took over at their own 32 and got a 23-yard run from Eric Gonzalez to move into Bear territory.
Yet as the Pierce defense tightened, Colusa faced a fourth and eight and with quarterback David Belmontes keeping the play alive with his legs and buying enough time to find Mason Jennings over the middle and inside the red zone at the 18.
Gaining just two yards over the next three tries, the RedHawks were once again confronted with a fourth down, but this time with only 14 seconds left on the clock.
Needing to throw to give themselves a chance, Belmontes delivered a strike to Asa Selover, who in spite of the tight coverage, ripped the ball away from the defender for the score.
Unfortunately for the RedHawks, those would be the only points they scored in the game, because no matter how hard they tried the Bears were able to thwart the effort.
As such, in its attempt to further close the deficit in the second half, Colusa turned the ball over twice, but credit to the RedHawk defense for limiting Pierce to just a field goal.
opener played on Sept. 26.
However, the kick itself was impressive, as Francisco Ruiz, who has converted on 12 of 13 extra points and has made good on both attempted field goals thus far, split the uprights from 43 yards out.
Reflecting after the game, Bear head coach Anthony Tapia credited the RedHawks for their play, but also discussed the need for his team to execute more efficiently and clean up some of the sloppy play.
“When we started, I saw glimpses of the way we played against Lincoln and thought okay, we’re on it,” said Tapia. “But quickly we realized that we have some things to figure out on both sides of the ball as we adjust to playing without Nate Gomez. For one, we couldn’t tackle their quarterback to save our lives. Still, it was a well-fought game and we made some plays, but we need to fix the little things as we move forward.”
Other Bears’ players turning in notable performances were Jorge, who completed six passes for 76 yards in addition to recovering a fumble and intercepting a pass to seal the win, along with Dye, who was on the receiving end of the touchdown pass from Jorge and picked off a pass as well.
Noah Sucevich and Rodrigo Velazquez made eight tackles apiece, while Robert Nesbitt, Jr. finished with seven including four for losses.
For the RedHawks, it was the second tough defeat in as many weeks, but the resiliency the team showed is something that Coach Mason Niccum sees as a positive.
“Like I told the players, you never feel good losing, especially in a county rivalry game, but we battled,” said the first-year head coach. “It’s heartbreaking for our seniors because it’s their last shot at these guys, but they played tougher than a fifty-cent steak. It was fun to watch those kids laying it out, which has been our emphasis this season – go out and play football.”
Belmontes, who should be commended for extending plays, again led the offense having thrown for 82 yards and rushing for 104 more.
Jennings had four catches for 53 yards, an interception on defense, three pass breakups and four tackles, while Selover made the touchdown grab and finished with nine tackles.
Also putting forth a strong effort was Ben Baker, who with seven solo tackles and four assists had a game-high 11 total tackles.
This week both teams have difficult SVL match ups as Colusa (1-4, 0-1) remains at home to take on Winters (4-1, 1-0), while Pierce (4-0, 1-0) travels to Trowbridge to face East Nicolaus (3-2, 1-0).