Loss to Alhambra ends Santa Rosa's football season

Daniel Gonzalez finds some running room for Santa Rosa Academy in its game Friday night.

 Story and photos by Joe Quinn

Santa Rosa Academy’s football season came to an end in a 49-14 loss at Alhambra Friday night.

Indeed, it was a cold night on the field and it stayed that way for the Rangers of Santa Rosa despite their two TD outburst early in the third quarter. On the first play of the game, the Moors of Alhambra moved the ball 40 yards on a simple run over the left side. That seemed an omen for the rest of the game.

The Moors did score shortly after and two more in the second quarter. Their placekicker, Emilio Reynoso, was perfect on the night, converting all extra points. However, despite the halftime score of 21-0, the game did not seem out of reach.

The Rangers came out swinging in the third quarter and scored quickly on TD’s by Jeremiah Park and Daniel Gonzales, narrowing the score to 21-14 and providing hope that this was to be a tight game that could go either way. However, the ground attack by Alhambra was not to be stopped.

The Moors rushed for 388 yards on the night with Cyrus Wu topping out at 131 and one TD. Eric Baray added 97 more yards with his old-fashioned “Jim Taylor-like” power running. Baray also took it across the goal line three times, outscoring Santa Rosa single-handedly.

Rangers QB Adam Pinard was under pressure all night but managed a 50-yard pass in the thitd quarter that brought the team close to the end zone and the Ranger crowd to its feet. Jeremiah Park, Daniel Gonzalez, Tyler Baxter and Jeffrey Sims showed individual brilliance but given the final score it was clearly not the Rangers’ night.

The Rangers’ season ends at 4-5 with five straight losses after a strong 4-0 start. Their game with Sherman Indian was cancelled and might have given them a shot at a .500 season. Alhambra moves on to play Hamilton High of Anza in the second round. Santa Rosa played the Bobcats of Hamilton tight a few weeks back. Alhambra is also ranked No. 1 in their division.

Jeremiah Park, Luke Adams, Sydney Geske, Daniel Heiner, Jeffrey Sims, Cameron Quesada, Lee Goode, Adam Pinard and Daniel Clay all move on after their final high school game. A good nucleus will return and Coach Perry Jones and AD Daniel Torres are hopeful for an improvement on the 2021 Season.