Dons JV Shows Improvement in All Facets of the Game, but The San Ramon Valley Wolves Prove Too Much to Overcome.
The Dons JV Football Team welcomes the San Ramon Valley (SRV) Wolves to our new football field for a brisk September home game. #9 Santi Vignoles kicks off for the Dons to start the game with a nice boot to the Wolves’ 15 yard line with SRV returning to their own 40 yard line. Two nice offensive gains by the Wolves are followed by a defensive stop by #4 Chris Copeland and #89 Josh Elerts making a nice stop on the running back, and a holding penalty on the Wolves sets them back for a first and 20 early in the matchup. Later in the drive, a facemask penalty on the Dons negates a nice defensive stop giving the Wolves a first and ten at the Dons 11 yard line. A nice run around the left side gives the Wolves a touchdown and an early lead, with the extra point making the score 7-0 with 6:49 left in the first quarter.
Elerts receives the kickoff to set the Dons offense up on their own 30 yard line. On second down, quarterback Wyatt Zawadski throws right to #3 River Lockwood for a nice catch and run to the Wolves 47 yard line. A Zawadski pass to #18 Grant Ricker up the left side gains the Dons an early first down to the Wolves 38 yard line. Another nice pass to Ricker to the left side gains 9 yards to set the Dons up for a critical early third down. #13 Tommy Terhar takes the handoff and runs strong over the left tackle for a first down for the Dons. A great pass from Zawadski to #7 Andrew Upp takes the Dons to the 8 yard line. After three unsuccessful attempts to reach the endzone, Zawadski finds Lockwood on the left side but the Dons are stopped short of the goal line giving the Wolves the ball on downs.
The Wolves push out from deep in their own territory with a series of strong running plays, setting up at their own 23 yard line as time runs out in the first quarter with the Wolves leading the Dons 7-0.
The Wolves open the second quarter with a deep pass play down the middle, flipping the field to the Dons 35 yard line. #4 Chris Copeland makes a nice defensive stop for a loss, and a holding penalty pushes the Wolves further back setting up a second and long at the Dons 38 yard line. A deep pass play down the left side gives the Wolves a first and goal at the Dons 5 yard line, and a run up the left side gives the Wolves their second touchdown of the game extending their lead to 14-0 after the made extra point. With 7:45 left in the second quarter the Dons are facing an early deficit to a strong San Ramon Valley team.
#10 Illias Kaplanes-Jones and #2 Matthew Schwarz set up to return the kickoff, with Schwarz receiving the kick and setting up the Dons offense at their 28 yard line. A forward pitch from Zawadski to Lockwood on first down for a 4 yard gain is followed by an incomplete pass to Ricker, giving the Dons a third and 6 with 6:41 left in the second quarter. Zawadski’s third down pass intended for Lockwood is intercepted by the Wolves for a pick-six, further extending the Wolves lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter.
Kaplanes-Jones and Schwarz again set up to receive the kickoff, with Kaplanes-Jones catching the ball before immediately being brought down by a nice play by the Wolves’ special teams. A holding penalty on the kick return pushes the Dons back to their own 5 yard line to set up the offense with a first and ten. A Zawadski pass to Lockwood on the right side gains 5 yards, followed by a pass to Ricker on the left side for a Dons first down. A nifty run by Terhar up the middle gains the Dons 9 yards on first down setting up a critical second and 1. A deep pass from Zawadski to Lockwood is followed by a nice run to give the Dons a first down on the Wolves 18 yard line. After a Dons penalty, Terhar catches a Zawadsk pass in the backfield but is immediately brought down by a nice tackle for the Wovles defense. Another deep pass over the middle by Zawadski to #26 Kyler Roberts gives the Dons a first and goal at the Wolves 1 yard line. After a run for a loss, Zawadski finds Ricker in the right corner of the endzone with a perfectly placed fade pass to put the Dons on the scoreboard with their first touchdown of the game. A made extra point by Vignoles gets the Dons back in contention, closing the score to 21-7 with 2:05 left in the second quarter.
Vignoles kicks off deep to the Wolves 7 yard line and a fumble on the return is recovered by the Wolves to set up their offense at their own 30 yard line. A nice screen pass on the left side is almost broken up by Elerts for the Dons, but the Wolves flip the field with a nice gain to the Dons 43 yard line. A nice QB scramble around the right side for a completed pass gives the Wolves a first down, followed by a 7 yard pass play stopping the clock at 45.5 seconds left in the first half. An incomplete pass on the left side gives the Wolves a 3rd and 3 with 41 seconds left in the first half. A nice pass play up the right side gives the Wolves another touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first half, and the made extra point once again extends the Wolves lead to 21 points with a score of 28-7.
Kaplanes-Jones receives the kickoff and after a few nice moves is brought down at the Dons 15 yard line. A crisp second down pass from Zawadski to #84 Bryce Birdsong gains the Dons a first down, and a timeout stops the clock at 11.5 seconds left in the first half. An incomplete pass from Zawadski to Lockwood deep over the middle stops the clock with 4.6 seconds to go, and the Dons call a timeout to set up what might be their last offensive play of the first half. Zawadski throws deep down the right side to Ricker but the pass falls incomplete to bring the first half to a close with the Wolves firmly in control of the game with a 28-7 lead.
Kaplanes-Jones and Schwarz set up to receive the second half kickoff for the Dons with Schwarz returning the kick to the Dons 25 yardline to set up the Dons offense to begin the second half. A first down pitch play to Lockwood gains 5 yards up the right side, and a QB keeper is nullified by a personal foul penalty on the Dons to push them back to their own 10 yard line for second and twenty. A second down Zawadski pass falls incomplete, and a third down screen pass to Lockwood fails to gain a first down forcing a punt for the Dons. The Wolves return the punt to the Dons 37 yard line giving the offense good field position for their first possession of the second half.
After a couple run plays, a third down pass into the endzone falls incomplete for the Wolves, setting up a critical 4th and 2. A strong run up the left side gives the Wolves a first down and goal on the Dons 9 yard line. A stellar tackle by #84 Bryce Birdsong gives the Wolves offense a one yard loss, but on the next play a pass over the middle gives the Wolves another touchdown. A botched extra point gives the Wolves a 34-7 lead.
#89 Josh Elerts receives the kickoff for the Dons and has a nice run up the left side to set up the Dons offense at their own 30 yard line. A first down Zawadski pass is intercepted by the Wolves giving SRV great field position with 3:00 left in the third quarter.
Two short run plays by the Wolves end in a nice stop by #89 Elerts for the Dons giving the Wolves a critical third down. The Dons defense makes a nice stop on third down setting 4th and one. The Dons defense makes another great stop on 4th down giving the Dons the ball at their own 26 yard line.
A false start on first down pushes the Dons offense back 5 yards, and a pitch play to #3 Lockwood gains 7 yards for the Dons setting up 2nd and 8 with 37 seconds left in the third quarter. A facemask penalty on the Wolves defense gives the Dons a much needed first down, moving the ball up to the 38 yard line with 31 seconds to go in the third quarter. A 12 yard pass to the left side from Zawadski to Lockwood gives the Dons a first down on the 50 yard line to bring a close to the third quarter with the Dons trailing the Wolves 34-7.
The Dons offense opens the fourth quarter with a fumble in the backfield pushing the offense back to their own 42 yard line for a second and long. A second down run takes the Dons to third down, and a nice run by Terhar on third down gives the Dons offense a chance at 4th and 5. An incomplete pass on 4th down gives the ball back to the Wolves with 7:55 left in the game.
A holding penalty on the Wolves offense pushes them back to their own 35 yard line, but a nice run up the left side for a big gain gives the Wolves second and 6. A short gain on second down followed by a dropped pass on third down forces the Wolves to punt on 4th down. A short punt sets up the Dons with good field position on their own 34 yard line, but a personal foul facemask by the Dons pushes the offense all the way back to their own 19 yard line.
#7 Andrew Upp takes a nifty reverse play on first down and bursts through the Wolves defense for an 81 yard touchdown run, giving the Dons hope and closing the gap to 34-14 with 5:47 left in the game.
A strong kickoff by Vignoles all the way to the endzone for a touchback sets up the Wolves offense on their own 20 yard line. A nice pass play over the middle gets the Wolves out of trouble setting up a first down on their own 46 yard line with 5:16 left to play. A series of strong runs by the Wolves offense bleeds the clock, but #50 Branson Smith leads the Dons defense in a series of great tackles. However, the Wolves find the endzone again with a strong run around the right side, further extending the Wolves lead 41-14 after the made extra point.
Kaplanes-Jones receives the kickoff and sets up the Dons offense at their own 23 yard line. An incomplete pass to Ricker on first down stops the clock at 1:58 in the fourth quarter, and a nice run by Terhar on second down sets up 3rd and 4 for the Dons. A nice pass over the middle to #89 Josh Elerts followed by a strong run gives the Dons a first down with less than a minute to play. A nice catch and run by Lockwood on first down for a big gain up the right side gets the Dons offense close to scoring position with 44 seconds to play. A deep pass down the right side is intercepted by the Wolves defense and a single snap by the Wolves offense runs the clock out in the game securing a 41-14 victory for the Wolves.