Pierce 14 – Amador 13
For the second year in a row the Bears kicked off the season with a game against Amador and came away with a narrow victory although playing on the Buffalo’s home turf did present some problems as the Bears struggled to maintain their footing throughout the night.
“The turf was the real equalizer,” said Pierce head coach Anthony Tapia. “It was a challenge for our guys, but it was not the case for Amador.”
Still, the Bear defense turned in a ferocious effort despite giving up two touchdowns in the third quarter and the offense was able to answer for the go-ahead score.
Tapia praised his defensive line, specifically singling out Mikey Acevedo, Aaron Velazquez and Quin Stephens and also reported that Rodrigo Velazquez made big plays from his linebacker spot throughout the night.
Jonny Velazquez finished with a team high seven tackles, Rodrigo Velazquez recorded five including three for losses and a sack, while Robert Nesbitt, Jr. also made five tackles and was credited with two pass defenses and a sack.
What was particularly impressive from Tapia’s perspective was that the defense kept Amador in check for the entire fourth quarter to preserve the victory.
As for the Bear offense, the debut of Austin Jorge proved very successful as the junior completed 12 of 16 passes for 112 yards, ran for 113 yards on 18 carries and scored both touchdowns, prompting Tapia to say, “He played great and got tough yards when called upon. On top of that, he had a good night defensively for us.”
Jorge’s favorite target was Nate Macintosh, who caught six balls for 92 yards.
While in the backfield, Tapia liked the combination of Macintosh, Nathan Gomez and Jamison Porter who combined for 83 yards on the ground.
Also deserving credit for the win was kicker Franciso Ruiz who made good on both his PAT attempts.
Hoping to ride their momentum to another victory, the Bears host Clear Lake tonight at Gregg LeMaster Field.
Williams 15 – Willows 8
Facing off against Willows is a little more special for head coach Forrest Bateman, the Honker alum who also coached at his alma mater, and his team responded by delivering the hard-fought win.
Crediting his entire defense for their fortitude, Bateman expressly described the play of Daniel Preciado, who made eight tackles, five for losses and three sacks, as being “phenomenal” and one of the best performances he had seen.
Bateman also highlighted the play of Azael Velazquez who returned a blocked field goal 75 yards for a touchdown.
Rigoberto Ramirez led the ‘Jackets with 10 tackles, Ricardo Medina finished with nine, Angel Medina pitched in with seven, while Varion Gonzalez finished with six tackles, three for losses and caused a fumble.
In adjusting to their new offensive scheme, the Yellowjackets struggled with penalties and turnovers at times but saw Ricardo Medina carry 19 times for 100 yards and a touchdown, then had Julian Garcia average 16.7 yards a pop, rushing three times for 50 yards.
According to Bateman, the offense is still a work in progress, but there were definitely some positives to take away as he explained, “We ran for over 200 yards and just missed some passes that would have led to scores. Our physicality was much improved and is at the level we want it to be. If we clean up the turnovers we will get where we need to be going forward.”
With a win now under its belt, Williams will play its home opener against Mt. Shasta tonight at McCarl Field.
Maxwell 0 – Rio Vista 26
Hosting the visiting Rams, a Sac-Joaquin Division VI team in their home opener, things didn’t exactly go as planned for the Panthers in a game which was called by referees with nearly the entire fourth quarter remaining.
A chippy affair throughout, it was nonetheless a bizarre ending as Maxwell head coach Lane Davis explained, “Things got out of hand early. Rio Vista had at least six personal fouls in the first half, then the refs called it just two minutes into the fourth quarter. I’ve never been a part of anything like it. But don’t get me wrong, Rio Vista was the better team. They were bigger, stronger and faster.”
Something else the Panthers must look to consider is what their identity will be as an offense this season given that their leading rusher from a year ago, Erick New, was bottled up by the Ram defense and the team as a whole was held to under 100 yards of total offense.
Landon Barrett led the defense with nine tackles and a sack, while Connor Pearson, Tanner Vierra and Vincent Orozco made seven tackles apiece.
Looking to bounce back this week, Maxwell makes the trek to Weed to take on the Cougars tonight.
Colusa 12 – Yreka 43
An injury-riddled RedHawk squad made the trek to Yreka where they hung tough for three quarters before the Miners pulled away in the fourth.
Down eight starters, Coach Mason Niccum found no fault with his squad’s effort and specifically praised the play of senior Cade Smith saying,” This one was a tough one. We played hard and so did they, but the wheels fell off in the fourth quarter. Cade played well on both sides of the ball. He had his first start on offense and also did extremely well on defense for us.”
No other information about the game was provided.
With this Friday night off, Colusa (0-2) hopes to get healthy and will return to action on Sept. 12 when it makes the short trip to Williams.