Loss to Artesia ends Santa Rosa Academy's football season

Santa Rosa Academy defensive players surround an Artesia ballcarrier on Friday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

By Paige Mendez, Correspondent

The Santa Rosa Academy football team ended its season with a 21-12 loss to Artesia Friday night in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 14 playoffs.

The 24-20 victory last week was a comeback win for the Rangers – the kind of win they’ve accomplished several times this season. Head coach Perry Jones had hoped this Artesia match-up would end up the same way, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Trailing 14-6 at halftime, the only Ranger touchdown on the board was from senior Braylon Taylor, who caught a 20-yard pass from quarterback Daniel Marlow with just 30 seconds left in the second quarter.

Santa Rosa was ready to start on that second half comeback, but when their first drive of the third quarter ended in four plays with a punt, the game and the momentum was in Artesia’s hands.

In just two long plays, the Pioneers reached the end zone for the third time of the night, making the Rangers’ uphill battle that much steeper.

Santa Rosa nearly reached the red zone on their next drive, the highlight of which was a 25-yard run from Taylor to convert on a third down. But Artesia’s defensive line stopped the carries after that play, leading to a turnover on downs.

Even so, the Ranger defense showed up big time in the next drive, holding the Pioneers to less than one yard per play on average before they were forced to punt.

With the fourth quarter starting soon and trailing by two possessions, Santa Rosa had a lot of ground to cover in the following drive.

Senior Wyatt Spykstra started them off with two plays in a row accounting for 10 yards each. Then a flag against Santa Rosa cost them five yards but Taylor made up for it with a 14-yard run.

Taylor had over 100 yards on the night, but shared the credit for that offensive feat.

“It felt amazing, but I couldn’t have done that without my offensive line and quarterback and coach Jones,” said Taylor.

But after Taylor’s 14 yards, the penalties started stacking up against the Rangers with three consecutive false-start calls and a total of five called against them on that drive, costing them 25 yards.

Jones said those penalties may have been a side effect of excitement from his team.

“We kept moving on offense and I think those kids were just excited about the play and saw that they could be successful and wanted to just go,” he said. “But we’ve got second-round CIF refs now so they’re not going to miss anything.”

Those setbacks notwithstanding, Spykstra (with a 40-yard run) and teammate Dominic Vicente-Thomas (13 yards of his own) moved the chains. Then a penalty for disconcerting act was called on the Pioneers, putting Marlow in the perfect spot to quarterback sneak it into the end zone, putting his team within nine points with just over nine minutes left in the game.

The defense continued to put up impressive stops but, in the end, there wasn’t enough time for their signature comeback. The Pioneers ran the clock down at the 17-yard line, ending the game 21-12.

The Rangers football team made school history in making it farther than any team before them with a first-round CIF win. For senior Eli Aguilar, that win in the playoffs was something he had been waiting four years to accomplish.

“As a freshman, one of the first things I said was I wanted to win one CIF game,” Aguilar said. “I had been to three CIF games and didn’t win a single one. But to win it my senior year means everything.”

Senior Jack Warren added that the real legacy is what’s to come for this team.

“All my brothers who play my position are the legacy I will leave here,” Warren said. “They’re the ones who will move on and do better than we ever did.”

Jack Warren finds some running room for the Rangers during Friday's playoff game. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Quarterback Daniel Marlow works his way through traffic Friday night. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Connor Peterson makes a tackle for the Santa Rosa Academy defense. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Wyatt Spykstra was once again one of the stars of the Santa Rosa Academy offense. (Photo by Rick Rowell)