COLUSA, CA (MPG) – No matter the records of the two teams involved, the familiarity and emotion of a rivalry game can often illicit unexpected occurrences, as was the case in last Friday’s Sacramento Valley League clash between Colusa and Pierce at Yeghoian Field.
Although the end result wasn’t all that surprising as the Bears emerged with a 29-14 victory, a few big plays made by the underdog RedHawks kept things interesting, particularly in the first half.
With Colusa deferring the opening kick and the Bears starting their first possession at midfield after a long return by Devin Garcia, it looked as though Pierce was going to steamroll the RedHawks as they chewed up nearly eight minutes of the first quarter, working the ball into the red zone at the 11.
However, nothing came of the drive after a tackle for a loss by Colusa’s Caleb De La Torre on a fourth and three forced the Bears to turn the ball over on downs.
Unfortunately for the RedHawks though, they could not take advantage and punted the ball away after a three and out.
Following another nice run back by Garcia, the Bears were in business again, this time needing just four plays to put up the game’s first points as Ben Sweet carried up the middle for the touchdown and Colin Dye tacked on the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.
Still, on the ensuing kickoff, one of those unexpected moments occurred when Colusa’s Asa Selover illuded a would-be tackler then raced 96 yards up the sideline for the score.
Undaunted, Pierce which has speed of its own, saw Kashius Nunley respond with a return to the Colusa 15, ultimately setting up a six-yard touchdown run by Sweet just seconds into the second period.
A pair of sophomores, Nunley and Sweet made huge contributions in the win with Nunley carrying 11 times for 88 yards and catching three passes for an additional 49, while Sweet rushed for 153 yards on 22 carries.
With a 15-point cushion and looking for more, the Bears then completed a successful onside kick, but couldn’t capitalize as RedHawk defensive back Emi Guzman intercepted a pass.
Nevertheless, the Pierce defense stiffened, allowing the Bears to extend the advantage to 22-7 after Timmy Vega took the handoff at the 11 and spun his way into the end zone
At this juncture, despite there being just over two minutes remaining in the half, the game would become even more eventful.
Sweet intercepted a pass for the Bears in Colusa territory at the 33, but two plays later the RedHawks’ Benji Mata returned the favor making a pick of his own.
With only 45 seconds left on the clock, the RedHawks were aggressive and it paid off as Guzman, got behind the defense, hauled in a pass from quarterback Carson Cain and did the rest completing the 56-yard scoring strike and giving Colusa hope as they were now within eight points despite having only eight plays from scrimmage on offense.
It was the only scoring Colusa would manage though, as in the second half Pierce tacked on another touchdown when Dye took it in on a keeper with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Defensively, the Bears did their job and stood firm throughout, sealing the win after Vega intercepted an errant throw with six minutes left in the game.
Pierce coach Anthony Tapia, while appreciating the effort of his team and the way it dominated time of possession, knows that there are things that will be necessary to cleanup moving forward explaining that, “Overall, we played pretty well, but at this time of year we can’t have the penalties and turnovers that we had tonight.”
As for Colusa, its two big plays notwithstanding, it just couldn’t find the consistency it needed on either side of the ball.
Nick Alvarez rushed 11 times for 72 yards before exiting due to injury and Guzman finished with three catches for 67 yards to lead the offense, while Dante Santana made one of the three RedHawk interceptions on defense.
Rounding out the regular season this Friday night, Colusa (3-6, 1-5) hosted Upper Lake in a non-conference game with Pierce (6-3, 4-1) traveling to Winters for a tilt against the Warriors.
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Caption(s):
JC_RedHawksFall-KN – Pierce’s Kashius Nunley runs with the ball during the Bears’ game in Colusa on Oct. 30.
JC_RedHawksFall-BS – Bear running back Ben Sweet ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns in Pierce’s Oct. 30 victory over Colusa.
JC_RedHawksFall-AR – Pierce linebacker Alex Ramirez brings down a Colusa ball carrier for one of his team-high six tackles.
JC_RedHawksFall-EG – Colusa’s Emi Guzman makes a 56-yard catch for a touchdown in the RedHawks’ loss to Colusa on Oct. 30.