Santa Rosa football team tries to bounce back from loss

Santa Rosa Academy's Isaac Felix heads up the field after hauling in a pass last Friday.

Story and photo by Joe Quinn, Correspondent

Santa Rosa Academy’s football team will try to get back on the winning track Friday night with a nonleague game against Crescenta Valley at Glendale High School. The Rangers have lost two straight, including last Friday’s game against Johnson High of Sacramento, 42-8.

The Rangers, now 3-4 overall, hosted last week’s game at Rancho Christian School in Temecula. The visiting Warriors did not check into their Hemet hotel until well after midnight after enduring a long bus ride from Sacramento. However, they played as if they had had plenty of rest.

The score does not tell the whole story, though, as Santa Rosa could have kept it close had it not been for fumbles at key points and while generally in good field position.

The first quarter was played close with those fumbles keeping the Rangers from taking the lead. As it was, the Rangers were making a game of it at 8-8 when the visitors took the lead for good with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.

With the score at 14-8 for the visitors at the start of the second quarter, the Warriors added to the lead and closed out the half up 22-8. This was despite some long gains and gutsy running by Isaac Felix. Two more Ranger fumbles nullified significant gains while the team seemed always in good field position.

The Rangers failed to score again but the Warriors continued adding points in the second half.

Despite the score, all was not lost for the home team, though. The defensive line, up against much larger opponents and with the absence by injury of key lineman Roman Wambler, penetrated well and made many tackles in the Johnson High backfield. Jacob Munstock, playing both ways, made important tackles throughout the game.

The team was making aggressive gang tackles in general, and one provided the only Ranger score of the day. Hardly had the visiting quarterback moved off center on his own 5-yard line
when he was smothered by Rangers and the ensuing fumble was recovered by Kai Loquet for the only Ranger TD on the day.