In a battle of two previously unbeaten teams in the Bay Valley Athletic League, Pittsburg established dominance over host Liberty, ending the Lions’ seven-game win streak with a 35-0 victory, and moving one game closer to the Pirates’ first outright league title in three years.
It did not take Pittsburg long to send ripples of shock and worry through the robust home crowd at Liberty’s Ohmstede Field. After the Pirates forced a quick Liberty punt on the first possession of the game, Pittsburg wasted no time getting on the board. Justin Boyd hit Zach Ellsworth on the first play of the game, and Ellsworth raced to paydirt for a 51-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead, less than two minutes into the game.
“Zach (Ellsworth) had a really good game again, and Willie Harts made a couple of big plays,” said Pittsburg coach Vic Galli. “We just played really well across the board.”
The second score didn’t come much later. A Justin Sanders interception thwarted a Liberty drive, and the junior quarterback Boyd distributed the ball to his older cousin, A’jae, on a quick screen. The Pittsburg career record holder for receiving yards dashed 45 yards past the Lions’ defense for a 14-0 lead with 5:21 remaining in the first quarter.
The Pirates still weren’t done in the first quarter, however. After Jacob Bandes forced and recovered a fumble on his sack, Pittsburg took over the Liberty 18-yard line late in the first. Darrion Bartley converted the scoring opportunity, scoring from three yards out for a 21-0 advantage before the end of the first 12 minutes.
Neither team reached the end zone in the second quarter. Liberty put together its best drive of the game to get inside the Pitt red zone, but the Pirates’ defense held on down at their 19-yard line, allowing both teams to head to the locker room with the 21-0 margin.
“Our defense has really been clicking the past couple weeks,” Galli said. “I was impressed with this effort. It was a great team effort.”
Pittsburg extended the lead in the third quarter when A’jae Boyd created separation on a beautiful fade route to the front right pylon, and Justin Boyd dropped the ball into only a place where his cousin could make the play, creating a 28-point advantage. Anthony Robinson’s eight-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter created the final score.
“Justin (Boyd) had a really good night,” Galli added. “They dared us to throw and we responded with some big plays. We threw the ball much more efficiently.”
Both teams have big games next week. Pittsburg hosts Antioch in the 99th annual Big Little Game on Friday night, while Liberty takes on rival Freedom in the 20th annual Bell Game.
Casa’s late rally lifts Gauchos past Windsor
After opening the season with six straight losses, Denis Brunk’s Casa Grande team is putting on a show and building momentum for the post-season, rallying for a thrilling 20-14 win over Windsor on Friday night.
Windsor built a 14-0 lead by the early minutes of the second quarter, dominating on the ground. Casa Grande cut into the lead with 26.8 seconds remaining before half, picking up six key points and heading down to the locker room down by eight points.
The 14-6 score held through the third quarter, until Casa Grande reached the end zone with 3:25 left in the game. The Jaguars’ defense stopped the two-point conversion, however, and held a 14-12 lead late in the game.
With two minutes left in the game, however, Windsor committed the biggest mistake of the game, fumbling and allowing Casa to take possession. The Gauchos capitalized when Kenneth Fitzgerald reached the end zone on a one-yard plunge with 12.3 seconds left in the game, and then added the final points of the night on the two-point conversion run.
Moreau clinches MVAL title
Moreau Catholic left no doubt in its run to the Mission Valley Athletic League title, winning every league game by a wide margin. Friday night was no different, as the Mariners raced past Newark Memorial, 57-7, to complete an unbeaten slate against MVAL opponents.
Junior Adi Anderson scored twice in the first half, including a 47-yard run on the opening possession of the game, as Moreau scored 50 points in the first half. Sophomore Fresh Ison scored on runs of 42 and 85 yards in the second quarter, and had a 43-yard punt return to set up Anderson’s second score of the night.
LJ Anderson added a 14-yard scoring run midway through the first quarter, and Onijai Sellers had touchdown passes to Adonis Forrest and Lovelace Rufus. The connection with Forrest covered 67 yards, and made the score 22-7 at the end of the first quarter, while his 28-yard touchdown pass to Rufus kicked off the second quarter scoring bonanza.
The Mariners complete their regular season against James Logan.
Miramonte races past Concord
Sophomore quarterback Ryan Murphy’s touchdown pass just one minute into the game gave Concord an early 7-0 lead, but Miramonte came roaring back and cruised to the 47-13 win on Friday night.
The big turning point came with a pair of scores in the final minute of the first half. Already leading 20-7, Miramonte extended the lead with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Will Cassriel to Luke Miller. The Matadors then recovered an onside kick, and Cassriel made the score 34-7 with 14 seconds remaining before halftime.
Miramonte closed its scoring with a 46-yard run from Peter Stehr in the third quarter and a 24-yard touchdown pass from AJ Fraser to Henry Vacakis in the fourth quarter. The Matadors responded early to Murphy’s touchdown pass when Cassriel found Sam Walker for a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game. Concord looked to go ahead late in the first quarter, but Walker blocked a field goal attempt with 2:30 remaining in the quarter, and Stehr placed the Matadors ahead to stay before the end of the quarter with his nine-yard score.
Cassriel added another 33-yard scoring run in the second quarter, and finished the night with two scores each on the ground and through the air.
California builds early lead against Dublin
22 first quarter points propelled California past Dublin on Friday night, leading the Grizzlies to the 38-20 win.
Julian Iribarren had a pair of first-half touchdown runs, including a 41-yarder to open the scoring. Hugh Savage added a pair of first-quarter scores, with a 15-yard dash to make the score 14-0 midway through the first, and an 80-yard burst followed by a two-point conversion run to make the score 22-0 after one period.
Iribarren’s second score of the night made it 29-0 before Dublin finally got on the board, courtesy of a 39-yard run from quarterback Tre Hines. That made the score 29-7 at the half.
California kicker Israel Mendoza drilled a 29-yard field goal early in the third quarter to extend the Grizzlies’ lead, but Hines scored again, this time from seven yards out to close the gap to 32-14 by the end of the third quarter.
Sophomore Daniel DeSoto added Cal’s final points of the night on another rushing score, while Dublin’s Alex Gonsalves reached the end zone late in the fourth to close out the scoring.
