The Freshman Dons do not play nice football. A tough game for the Dublin Gael’s, but for the Don’s Thursday’s game was a confidence boost for both offense and defense. Thursday followed a tough loss against the Redwood Giants. With a final score 12-14, the team battled against the Giants, the clock, and hard-hitting penalties: scoring a touchdown, forcing the offense to fumble twice and recovering it both times all in under 2 minutes. The team just couldn’t secure the victory. They were in need of lifted spirits, and this game served its purpose as a reminder of their abilities.
WR, #18 Grant “Me A Wish” Ricker scored a touchdown for every quarter with 97 receiving yards between QB’s #5 Wyatt Zawadski and #8 Branson Smith. Every pass was completed to the point it seemed effortless for Ricker (the kid couldn’t miss). And the magic wasn’t just happening for Ricker, the entire team looked different. They recovered their own fumbles and forced another 2, and the defense held strong also gaining 2 interceptions– #8 Branson Smith, and #2 Matthew Schwarz adding another in the 3rd quarter for 56 yards, setting up Zawadski and Ricker to capitalize quickly. #22 Illias Kaplanes-Jones (33 rushing yards) and #84 Gavin Dodge (49 receiving yards) would also gain a touch-down each; and though the 2point conversions were sparse that night, #13 Thomas Terhar and #15 Deonte Littlejohn, with a little shake and bake and stiff arming would get a piece of the pie, adding 4 more to the scoreboard.
It was an aggressive team, hungry for victory. The school’s athletic trainer was on the field twice by the half for all legal hits. Defensively the team’s DB, Littlejohn would lead the team with 4 solo tackles and 3 assisted, one launching the defense over his shoulder. There were 21 solo tackles that night, with Schwarz and #17 Amin Naroozi also on the team’s leader board, and 19 assisted tackles including a nasty high/low at the half by the pair that caused an audible “Oo” from the crowd. The team skipped off more pumped than we’ve seen them before, Acalanes 18-0.
While the team can be confident in their talents, it’s going to take discipline to eliminate the turnovers and cut down on the penalties, losing an unnecessary 75 yards in 10 penalties, with several being due to pass interference. Still, a celebration is necessary when the entire team shows up and shows out. A special shout is due to Special Teams #24 Santiago Vignoles for kicking a total of 259 yards; Terhar for rushing 79 yards; and #29 Cody Michlitsch, #6 River Lockwood, and #44 Mason Schlehr for significant contributions to the teams total 214 receiving yards. The Dons will return October 6th, giving them a two week break before going to Livermore. The Frosh Dons are currently 0-3 on the road, and hopefully the team can learn to “keep that same energy”, whatever it is, when they’re on someone else’s field.
By Akilah Jones, proud Dons fan and #1 fan to #15