Santa Rosa rallies in second half for a 34-17 victory
Quarterback Justin York takes off on a 72-yard touchdown run for Santa Rosa Academy. (Photo by Rick Rowell) By Paige Mendez, Correspondent ...
By Paige Mendez, Correspondent
Santa Rosa Academy won its final football league game of the season at home on Friday night. The Rangers faced the Whittier Christian Heralds for their Senior Night and came out on top, 34-17.
Even though they were the first to score on the night to the tune of a 22-yard run from Daniel Gonzalez, with three turnovers including one interception and one fumbled snap in the first half, the Rangers had their work cut out for them.
Quarterback Justin York got things going on the first play of the possession following his fumble with a quick 72-yard touchdown. In spite of that, Santa Rosa (9-1, 4-1) went into the second half trailing 17-12 after missing both of their two-point conversion attempts and with Whittier Christian’s two touchdowns and a field goal.
As the team took the field for the second half, head coach Perry Jones said he could tell they were going to change the game at that point.
“They were all wondering what that first half was,” Jones said. “Then they were ready to get past that.”
They definitely did that and more, scoring within the first three and a half minutes on their first possession of the third quarter. Led on that drive by Gonzalez, York and Century Castle contributing 6, 18 and 33 yards respectively, the drive finished with a touchdown reception by Tyler Baxter to give his team the lead for the first time of the night. Also for the first time of the night, York ran in the two-point conversion, giving Santa Rosa a 20-17 lead.
A forced punt on the next Herald possession by an undeterred Ranger defense put their offense in position to widen that margin again and they did so before the end of the third quarter with a 15-yard run from Brendan Quesada. Even though there were two penalties against them on that drive, Gonzalez ran the ball for 51 of the total 64 yards to the end zone, helped again by York and Castle.
“We really have a lot of weapons and we found four of them tonight,” Jones said of his offense. “To have it bounce around like that is a luxury; it’s really fun.”
Jones utilized those weapons one more time for a final touchdown of the night with another Gonzalez run for 20 yards.
Santa Rosa’s defense held Whittier Christian scoreless in the second half, forcing four turnovers with a forced punt, interception, a fourth-down quarterback sack and a turnover on downs with an incomplete pass. But that type of performance is no surprise to Jones.
“Those kids [on defense] and playing as well as they are makes perfect sense to me,” said Jones. “They work hard, we get a really good scout look from our freshmen group to run against our defense. We may have a bad play on defense, but we’re able to correct it very quickly.”
“They’re amazing. They stop some of the most crucial plays when we need it,” York added about the defense. “I want to thank the defense for literally everything.”
The Rangers also held the Heralds to just 46 total yards in the second half, compared to their 176 from the first.
This win comes as the last regular-season game for the Rangers who will now wait for their playoff placement coming on Sunday. For Jones, that playoff berth isn’t the only thing he is seeing for the first time.
“For the first time, we have a cohesive group. We’ve never had that before and that comes from our senior leadership,” said Jones. “They lean on each other and it makes them accountable.”
York, one of the senior leaders on the team, said this team is a brotherhood for him.
“All of us are brothers; we hang out outside of school and we can trust each other,” said York. “That’s the main thing—we all love each other. Being able to depend on somebody and trust that they have your back really means a lot, especially as a quarterback.”
Rangers defensive back Tyler Baxter intercepts a pass in the end zone. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Brendan Quesada is on his way with touchdown run in the second half Friday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
Daniel Gonzales came up with some big plays for the Santa Rosa offense. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
