ARBUCKLE, CA (MPG) – Moving up into the Northern Section CIF Division III playoffs for the first time since 2004 due to increased enrollment, the Bears learned the hard way how difficult it is to compete against an opponent that hails from a school with approximately 500 more students as they fell 21-41 to visiting Lassen (Susanville) in a first-round game last Friday night at home.
In what may be the first ever meeting between the two schools on the footballfield, No. 4 seeded Pierce, the Sacramento Valley League runner-up, simply could not stop the powerful No. 5 Grizzlies, who had won five of their last six games to finish second in theNorthern League.
Receiving the opening kickoff, the Bears found some initial success with sophomore Nathan Gomez running the ball, but as their first possession stalled, they elected to go for it on fourth and five and literally had one slip through their fingers, as the open receiver could
not hold on to what was likely going to be a long touchdown.
Making matters worse, after taking over on downs, the Grizzlies needed just two plays to take a 7-0 lead and then continued to dominate the opening quarter putting together a second scoring drive in which they needed only two minutes to complete and extend
their advantage to 14-0.
Yet, the Bears made things interesting on the first play of the second quarter when they capped an eight-play 75-yard march with a pass from quarterback Drew Burnum to receiver Erick Montanez, who found the end zone from 26 yards out after breaking tackles
and showing off some nifty moves in the process.
It was the best series of the night for Pierce, and showed the promise of the future, as the drive included a 39-yard completion from Burnum, a junior, to sophomore receiver Nate Macintosh, in addition to the power running of Gomez, another sophomore.
However, from that point on the Lassen line took control, propelling the Grizzlies to four unanswered touchdowns and putting them on top 41-7 going into the fourth quarter.
Against the Lassen reserves, the Bears did close the gap, scoring twice in a minute and a half, first on an eight- yard run by Gomezand then on a 43-yard scoop and score by freshman Austin Jorge.
Gomez shouldered the load offensively carrying 18 times for 70 yards on the night.
After the game, Coach Anthony Tapia, while tipping his cap to the visiting Grizzlies, focused on building upon the solid season his team had this year.
“That Lassen team is a good one,” said Tapia. “And although we did put ourselves in pretty big hole early, we ran the ball well, which I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to do. Still, we want to be competitive in every game and to do that we need full commitment.
We started a lot of underclassmen tonight and they did well, so I think our future is bright. It’s just going to take some time to build a winning culture.”
While it was a bitter pill to swallow, Pierce, 7-4 overall, and the second-place team in the Sacramento Valley League, should not only drop back down into Division IV next year, they have a big crop of players coming up from their successful JV squad, and a number
of returners including Burnum, Gomez and Gavin Guynn, each of whom has shown growth this season.