ARBUCKLE, CA (MPG) – If there is such thing as a moral victory, an injury-depleted Pierce football team scored one last Friday night at Gregg Le Master Field when despite falling 6-7, it went toe-to-toe with an unbeaten East Nicolaus squad that is ranked No. 2 overall in the Northern Section.
Having lost team leader Austin Jorge two weeks ago in a win over Paradise, the Bears were heavy underdogs coming into the contest, but showed their resolve in a spirited defensive effort that held the Spartan offense in check and 112 yards below their season average.
It was a performance that made head coach Anthony Tapia particularly proud as he explained after the game, “Everyone thought this was going to be a blowout, but I wanted to see my team fight and that’s exactly what they did. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like to lose, but with three senior two-way starters done for the season and after what we saw East Nic do to other teams on film, I’m really happy. We just made a few too many mistakes.”
After a scoreless first half, in which the two team battled it out between the 20s, the Spartans put the game’s first points on the board early in the third period, the only drive of the night that the Pierce defense did not contain the East Nic offense.
Yet, the Bears didn’t quit and finally broke through in the fourth quarter when they put together a 10-play, 80-yard drive in which they faced a fourth and seven from the Spartan 13.
Having featured running back Ben Sweet on the drive, Pierce turned to the pass on the play, and as quarterback Colin Dye scrambled to his right, he spotted a wide-open Devin Garcia in the back corner of the end zone for the touchdown with three minutes left on the clock.
However, with their kicker coping with an injury, the extra point try was not a given, and as a result the Bears elected to go for two, but ultimately were held short.
Although no individual statistics were provided, Sweet carried the load running the ball and according to Tapia continued to show improvement, while Alex Ramirez made a significant catch on the final drive to get Pierce into the red zone.
Following two tough Sacramento Valley League matchups to start conference play, the Bears (3-3, 1-1) should have an easier go of it this week when they head to Willows on Friday night to take on a Honker team that has won just one game thus far.