| |
This year’s much anticipated contest provided fans with every bit the excitement of last season’s tussle. The animosity between the two rivals has been building since the 2007 thriller where Los Osos erased a 14-point deficit to knock off the Lancers 41-38.
Entering the fourth quarter trailing Bishop Amat 14-10, the defending Baseline League champs weren’t about to drop their season opener in front of a the home crowd.
Quarterback Richard Brehaut ripped off consecutive runs of 13 and 12 yards, placing the Grizzlies in a favorable first-and-goal situation from the eight yard line. After a three yard rush by running back Arby Fields on first down, Los Osos appeared to have tremendous momentum heading towards the goal line.
If only surpassing the Lancers point total was that easy…
On second-and-goal, while attempting to hand the football off to Fields, Brehaut collided with his running back in the backfield. The impact of the two players forced a fumble that Brehaut would recover 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Now faced with a third and goal from the 15 yard line, the highly touted quarterback lost his footing on a rollout play and was wrapped up behind the line for an eight yard loss.
Faced with a dreadful fourth-and-goal from the 23 yard line, the two stars of the Grizzlies’ backfield showed little panic. “Arby came up to me in the huddle and told me that he was going to make a play and to get him the ball,” said Brehaut.
Brehaut threw the pass off his back foot in the direction of Fields, who was blanketed by Lancer defender Sheldon Price. Not looking in the direction of the pass, Fields crossed the plane of the goal line and quickly spun around at just the right moment to coral the pass, giving the Grizzlies a lead they would not relinquish.
“I tried to hold onto the ball for as long as I could to allow Arby time to get open,” Brehaut exclaimed. “Thanks to great blocking from my line I saw he was one-on-one with a defender. I just threw a pass up in the air and he made the best play I have ever seen!”
The Lancers made one final bid at the lead as they attempted to move the ball downfield on their next possession, quickly advancing to their own 42-yard line. However, Los Osos defensive back Tobin Garrett officially put the game away by intercepting a Nicholas Lenhart pass with 5:02 remaining.
Los Osos would capitalize off the turnover as Fields would plunge 4 yards into the end zone to make it a two-score game. Bishop Amat would counter with a touchdown of their own as the final seconds on the game clock expired.
Brehaut finished the game 9/19 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown. Also leading his team in rushing, the UCLA recruit carried the ball 12 times for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Fields also set the tone for the Grizzlies running game with 73 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown.
Lenhart completed 13/20 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns for the Lancers.
Los Osos will resume their season September 12th at 7:00 against Cajon. Bishop Amat will return home to host Orange Lutheran at 7:30 next Friday.
Comments
|
