Story and photos by Jennifer Corriea
ARBUCKLE, CA (MPG) – Coming off a drubbing at the hands of Clear Lake in Week 2, Pierce head coach Anthony Tapia challenged his team to find a way to fight through the adversity he knows the Bears will face at one time or another during a game.
Whatever was said appeared to work, as Pierce overcame some early miscues to down Williams 40-20 in the 93rd rendition of the Rice Bowl at Gregg LeMaster Field on Sept 8.
“I challenged them again tonight and they answered,” said Tapia. “We are a work in progress, and we have to keep getting better. It’s going to be the theme this year.”
It was the seventh straight victory for the Bears, whose ground attack generated 350 yards of offense and accounted for all five of the teams’ touchdowns, and, by employing a combination of running backs – each with a different style – made it difficult for the ‘Jacket defense to slow it down.
That strength of the run game showed up early, when after forcing the Yellowjackets’ to turn the ball over on downs on their first possession of the game, Pierce needed just five plays to capitalize.
Starting on the Williams’ 34-yard line, David Aguirre took four straight handoffs before Alfonso Orozco did the rest, going to the outside from 14 yards out for the game’s first points.
However, the Yellowjackets have some firepower of their own in running back Alan Rodriguez, who showed why he is one of the county’s best, after catching a short pass in the flat from quarterback Kyden Bowen and outrunning the defense down the far sideline for the 75-yard score.
Yet, with 7:16 remaining in period, the Bears kept the 7-6 advantage by blocking the ensuing extra point try.
With the ball back in the Bears’ hands for its second possession, Pierce started what looked to be a promising drive, but six plays into it, back-to-back penalties and a fumble put Williams in business at the Bear 42.
As the second quarter dawned, the Yellowjackets had a potential go-ahead touchdown dropped in the end zone on a fourth down play from the 14.
While that attempt didn’t come to fruition, the ‘Jacket defense came up big again, pinning Pierce deep in its own territory, then blocking the punt, which they subsequently recovered at the eight-yard line.
From there, Williams needed just 37 seconds to take what would be its only lead in the game, when Bowen bulled his way into the end zone from three yards away.
But that touchdown, which made the score 13-6 in the ‘Jackets’ favor, seemed to light a fire
under the Bears, who responded with two Aguirre touchdowns in the final six minutes in the half. The first was a 10-yard scamper that saw the senior weave his way through the defense, while the second came on a run from five yards out, to put Pierce up 20-13.
And, although the Yellowjackets made a game effort to close the gap before intermission, strong pass defense by the Bears stalled the attempt near midfield.
It was on the first play of the third period, however, that Pierce broke the game open, as Aguirre returned the second half kickoff 85 yards for his third touchdown of the game.
Still, just a two-possession game, Williams moved the ball successfully to near midfield, but disaster struck in the form of a fumble that was recovered by the Bears’ Alex Orozco at the 50.
Employing heavy doses of sophomore running back Nathan Gomez, Pierce took the ball down to the ‘Jacket five, where Erick Montanez capped the drive with a headlong dive into the end zone.
A two-point conversion made the score 34-13 with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the Yellowjackets continued the fight, adding on in the fourth quarter after Rodriguez scored for the second time in the game, making good on a short pass from Bowen, as he evaded would-be tacklers to score from 19 yards away.
For the game, Rodriguez made six catches for 117 yards, ran for an additional 38 yards and, in the process, drew praise from not only his coach, but from Tapia as well.
Williams head coach Forrest Bateman called the senior a “phenomenal player, who outworks everyone,” while Tapia concurred, saying, “He is so good. I told my guys don’t ever assume he’s going down. I really like the way he plays.”
But the Bears weren’t quite done for the night and punctuated their victory with a final touchdown, in which big man, Colton VanLaningham, rumbled in for the 12-yard score.
Gomez led all rushers with 145 yards on 16 tries, while Aguirre carried 14 times for 109 yards to pace the offense, something Tapia was happy to see.
“I feel like Nathan set the tone with his toughness in running the ball and really opened things up for David,” said the fifth-year head coach, who remains undefeated in the Rice Bowl. “We call them thunder and lightning.”
Tapia also singled out the play of recent sophomore call-up Rodrigo Velazquez, who he said despite not getting the start, “provided a spark on defense.” Also playing a big role on defense was Alfonso Orozco and fellow senior Eduardo Cuellar, who had six tackles apiece.
For the ‘Jackets, who are to be commended for their grit and discipline, Bowen completed 18 of 27 passes for 261 yards, while Miguel Villanueva hauled in five of those passes for 41 yards.
Alejandro Hernandez made a game-high 12 tackles for the ‘Jacket defense, Dylan Chappa and Miguel Villanueva recorded 12 apiece, while Kaled Rosales finished with 10.
After his first Rice Bowl as a head coach, Bateman reflected saying, “I’m very proud of my team’s effort. Their program is farther along than ours is at the moment, and while I’m disappointed in the outcome, it was very important to me that we didn’t fold, and we didn’t.”
Preseason continues this week for both teams as the Bears (2-1) take on winless Oroville at home, while Williams (1-2) hosts an unbeaten Colusa at McCarl
Field tonight.