NAPA, Calif. - For the first time in his three-year coaching stint at Justin-Siena, head coach Brandon LaRocco has a winning record.
It’s something LaRocco is happy about.
“It feels good, it feels really good if I’m being honest about it,” he said afterwards. “I give all the credit though to the kids and the assistants because they put together a great game plan; they work their tails off getting ready for this team (Armijo), and I’m very proud of the work they do.”
The winning record comes on the heels of a 40-14 win over Armijo-Fairfield in which the Justin-Siena passing attack came to life.
“Having five or six guys that can make plays is just something we haven’t had in a long time,” LaRocco said of the passing attack. “We have legitimately six guys in the receiver spots.”
The game's first score came from the Braves (2-1) special teams. With 10:08 left in the first quarter, Miles Williams blocked a punt off the foot of Eder Mejia, and Marcus Nunes later scampered into the end zone to put Justin-Siena up 7-0.
“We put a lot of emphasis this year on our special teams and trying to create opportunities for ourselves on special teams, and I think that opening punt was a great example of that right,” LaRocco explained of the blocked punt. “That paid dividends the rest of the game because that punter was jumping the rest of the game, we got a couple bad snaps that turned into some other opportunities for us too, so it’s a great way to start.”
“It was great because I just blocked the punt,” Williams said of the blocked punt touchdown, “and then I turn around and I see my friend come up and pick up with the ball and I hear the crowd go crazy and it’s just a great feeling and turning point for us to show that we are in this and we are starting it up.”
The Indians (2-1) had their only two scores in the game come in the first half. At the 7:20 mark of the first quarter Juan Regalado connected with Cameron Joseph for a 18-yard touchdown pass. Later, with 2:21 left in the half Demetrius Perry had a one-yard touchdown rush.
Justin-Siena senior quarterback Barrett Donohoe looked good on the night both rushing and passing the ball. He was 9 of 17 with 162 yards through the air with two touchdowns. Rushing wise Donohoe had 35 yards on 10 carries to go with two touchdowns.
LaRocco was pleased with what he saw from his passing game.
“Barrett just looked dynamite once again, and we have a multitude of weapons,” the coach said of his quarterback and wide receivers.
Regalado, the Armijo quarterback, wasn’t too shabby on the night either running the offense. He was 7-for-22 passing with 135 yards, with a touchdown, and two interceptions.
This is a big win for the Braves simply due to the fact that Armijo is a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 school, while Justin-Siena is a CIF North Coast Section Division 4 school.
Another reason why it’s a big win is because Justin-Siena has kids from Fairfield on their team.
“I grew up in Fairfield, so Armijo was the school my older sister went to. It’s probably where I should’ve went if I didn’t end up a Justin, so it feels great,” LaRocco said of playing and beating the Indians. “I love playing local competition, and a lot of credit to those guys who played a good, hard, classy game.”
“It feels good since I live in Fairfield,” explained Shane Rosenthal, who resides in Fairfield. “Beating up on my hometown school it just feels real good, good team win.”
Up next for the Braves is a date with Hercules next Friday night. Armijo will host Dixon next Friday.
