The Dons JV Football Team once again takes the home field with hopes of getting their first win of the 2023 season against the fellow Dons of Amador Valley. #10 Illias Kaplanes-Jones and #2 Matthew Schwarz set up to receive the opening kickoff for Acalanes. Amador Valley opens the game with a squib kick up the middle and Acalanes sets up their offense on their own 34 yard line. #3 River Lockwood opens the game as starting QB for Acalanes and immediately hits #18 Grant Ricker up the left side for an amazing catch and run for a touchdown! Unfortunately, an Acalanes penalty during the play negates the touchdown, but sets up the Acalanes offense on the Amador Valley 40 yard line. After 2 short run plays and an incomplete pass, Acalanes goes for it on an early 4th down, but Lockwood’s pass sails over the head of #26 Kyler Roberts and Acalanes turns the ball over on downs.Amador Valley sets up their offense on their own 38 yard line with 8:30 left in the first quarter. A short run play followed by a pass break up by Lockwood gives Amador Valley third down and long. A quarterback keeper up the right side sets up 4th down with Amador Valley failing to convert, giving the ball back to Acalanes with good field position.
A low snap to Lockwood pushes the Acalanes offense back on first down, and a short gain by #13 Tommy Terhar up the middle on second down puts Acalanes in a third and long situation. A short pass to the right side to #7 Andrew Upp gains a few yards, and another Lockwood pass to Ricker up the left side fails to gain the first down, again giving Amador Valley the ball on downs.
On first down #15 Luca Oatham makes an amazing stop in the backfield pushing the Amador Valley offense back 7 yards, setting up second down and long. After two short gains, Amador Valley punts to Kaplanes-Jones, but a nice return up the left side is called back by an Acalanes penalty, starting the offense back at their own 21 yard line.
#5 Wyatt Zawadski takes over at quarterback for Acalanes, and a nice run by Terhar up the middle followed by a quarterback keeper gives Acalanes third and manageable. A sack on 3rd down forces an Acalanes punt, and Amador Valley takes over at midfield with just over a minute to play in the first quarter.
Two nice defensive plays by Acalanes sets up third down for Amador Valley, and a great combo tackle for a loss by Schwarz and #20 Jonah Rivera of Acalanes gives Amador Valley 4th and 10 as the first quarter draws to a close. Amador Valley opens the second quarter with a series of hard counts hoping to draw Acalanes offsides, but the defense stays put and Amador Valley is forced to call a timeout. On 4th down Amador Valley throws deep down the left side and the ball is intercepted by Lockwood, giving Acalanes the ball at their own 22 yard line.
Zawadski sets up at QB and throws a short pass to #84 Bryce Birdsong on the right side gaining 4 yards on first down. An Acalanes timeout is followed by two plays gaining no yards. A nice punt by #18 Grant Ricker flips the field and sets up the Amador Valley offense at their own 36 yard line.
An Amador Valley pass to the right side is brought down by Schwarz with a nice tackle, holding Amador Valley to a 2 yard gain. A fumble on second down is recovered by #37 Chris Evens, giving Acalanes great field position with just over 7 minutes left in the first half.
An incomplete Zawadski pass intended for Lockwood gives Acalanes second and 10, and a deep pass to Lockwood on second down is intercepted on a nice play by the Amador Valley defense. Amador Valley starts their offense at their own 8 yard line with a run play up the left side, brought down by Lockwood with a nice tackle. A nice stop by the Acalanes defense on a second down run sets up 3rd and 5 for Amador Valley, but a false start penalty pushes the offense back to 3rd and 10. A nice defensive pass rush forces an incomplete pass over the middle, forcing an Amador Valley punt deep in their own territory. Kaplanes-Jones lets the punt fall in front of him, giving the Acalanes offense great field position at the Amador Valley 37 yard line.
A nifty reverse up the middle to #7 gives Acalanes a nice gain on first down, setting up 2nd and 1. Zawadski slings a sharp pass up the right side to #18 Ricker gaining almost 20 yards and setting up the Acalanes offense in the redzone. A quarterback sack on first down pushes Acalanes back to the 23 yard line, but a crisp screen pass over the middle to Lockwood followed by a strong run takes Acalanes all the way up to the Amador Valley 5 yard line. A false start by the Acalanes offenses pushes them back to 3rd and 9, while another false start by the Acalanes offense sets up 3rd and long. A Zawadski pass to the right corner of the endzone falls incomplete, setting up 4th and long. Zawadski throws deep into the left corner to Ricker but the pass is intercepted by Amador Valley, giving them possession at their own 20 yard line with 1:30 left in the first half.
An Amador Valley run play up the left side for a short gain is followed by a deep pass attempt up the right side, but Kaplanes-Jones makes a great leaping interception returning the ball all the way to the endzone for an exciting pick-6, giving Acalanes a 7-0 lead after the made extra point by #9 Santi Vignoles.
Vignoles sets up to kickoff for Acalanes with 1:06 left in the first half, and #33 Christian Smario recovers a terrific onside kick by Vignoles setting up the Acalanes offense with great field position at the Amador Valley 44 yard line. On first down, Zawadski throws to Andrew Upp on the left side, and on second down Zawadski runs for a first down with a nice gain up the right side. On the following first down, Zawadski throws incomplete down the right side, giving Acalanes second and 10 with 17 seconds left. On second down, Zawadski finds Lockwood over the middle for a big gain, giving Acalanes first and goal on the 7 yard line with 9 seconds left in the first half. Zawadski rolls right and finds Lockwood with a nice pass into the endzone for Acalanes’ second touchdown of the half. A made extra point by Vignoles extends the Acalanes lead to 14-0 with just over 4 seconds left in the half.
Vignoles kicks another onside kick to the left side but this time Amador Valley recovers and the clock runs out in the first half.
Vignoles begins the second half with a deep kickoff, pinning the Amador Valley offense on their own 25 yard line to begin the second half action. #84 Bryce Birdsong and #89 Josh Elerts combine for a nice tackle for loss on first down giving the Amador Valley offense second and eleven. A strong tackle by Terhar on a second down run gives Amador Valley 3rd and 7 with a chance for Acalanes to gain some second half momentum with a critical stop. After an Amador Valley timeout, the Amador Valley quarterback throws a nice pass up the right side for a big gain, pushing their offense up to their own 47 yard line. #4 Chris Copeland for Acalanes steps up and makes a strong tackle up the left side, and #20 Jonah Rivera and #37 Chris Evens combine for a critical tackle for loss setting up 3rd and 8 at midfield for Amador Valley. The Amador Valley offense attempts a double pass play, but fortunately for Acalanes the ball is dropped by the receiver and they are forced into 4th and 8. Amador Valley drops a pass on 4th down, but unfortunately Acalanes fails to get a 12th defender off the field and Amador Valley is awarded a crucial 15 yard penalty and a first down. On the next play, Terhar and #50 Branson Smith combine for a nice stop on first down, but a deep pass down the right side on second down results in a touchdown for Amador Valley. The made extra point pulls Amador Valley to within 7 points, with Acalanes maintaining the lead at 14-7 with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
Kaplanes-Jones and Schwarz set up deep to receive the kickoff, but the onside kick is recovered by #54 Oliver Stoneman for Acalanes, giving the offense great field position at their own 49 yard line.
Zawadski scrambles left on first down and finds Lockwood for a nice catch and run for a big gain to the Amador Valley 17 yard line. Zawadski runs for 5 yards on the following first down, and a short snap drops the Acalanes back to the 21 yard line setting up 3rd and long. A great Zawadski pass finds #89 Josh Elerts as he runs a fantastic route across the middle resulting in another Acalanes touchdown and once again extending their lead to 14 points after a made extra point by Vignoles.
Vignoles sets up to kickoff with 2:31 left in the third quarter. An excellent kick by Vingnoles is followed by a great team tackle by #37 Chris Evens and #2 Matthew Schwarz for Acalanes, pinning the Amador Valley offense deep in their own territory at the 7 yard line. A great stop by #50 Branson Smith on first down pushes Amador Valley back deeper into their own territory, and #33 Christian Smario and #13 Tommy Terhar stuff the run up the middle to give Amador Valley 3rd and 10. An incomplete pass up the left side forces a punt to Kaplanes-Jones, and a nice return up the left side brings an end to the third quarter with Acalanes leading 21-7.
#3 River Lockwood takes the first down handoff up the left side for a 4 yard gain, and Terhar runs up the right side for a first down with a few nice moves following excellent blocking by the Acalanes offensive line. Another strong run by Terhar takes the ball to the 1 yard line for a first and goal with 8:33 left to play in the game. #37 Chris Evans takes the direct snap into the endzone for a touchdown with a strong run up the right side. The extra point attempt by Vignoles is blocked by Amador Valley, bringing the score to 27-7 with 8:29 left to play in the contest.
A great kickoff by Vignoles roles into the endzone for a touchback giving Amador Valley first and ten at their own 20 yard line. A false start on first down pushes the offense back, and a great tackle for loss by Elerts sets the offense back at their own 14 yard line. A pitch and pass play falls incomplete, bringing up 4th and long and a punt for the Amador Valley Dons. Kaplanes-Jones lets the short punt fall in front of him, giving Acalanes great field position at the Amador Valley 48 yard line. A strong run around the right side by Terhar overcomes a first down false start penalty giving Acalanes second and 7 with just under 5:30 left in the game. A nifty Terhar to Upp reverse play gains a first down for Acalanes, and another great run around the left side by Terhar for a touchdown is called back on a block in the back penalty. #50 Branson Smith takes a Zawadski handoff around the left side, running for a strong gain and a first down. Smith takes another handoff up the right side for a nifty run, dodging defenders all the way down to the 5 yard line. After two unsuccessful running attempts, Acalanes sets up for 3rd and goal at the 5 yard line. Two more runs for a loss give Amador Valley the ball over on downs with less than a minute to play in the game.
Two strong run plays by Amador Valley start their final drive, but #33 Christian Smario closes out the game for Acalanes with a nice tackle for loss.
The Acalanes Dons JV Football Team put together their most complete performance yet, dominating in all phases of the game with great blocking, tackling and execution on offense. The Dons have a bye week followed by a game at College park on September 22nd.
Stats from the Acalanes-Amador Valley JV Football contest:
#37 (CHRIS EVENS) and #30 (JONAH RIVERA) who played on Friday night both contributed with a combined 7 tackles (3 were TFL) and 1 rushing TD.
Acalanes defense held Amador to only 4 first downs for the entire game, which 2 came in the last 45 seconds of the game, and total offensive yards of 108.
Acalanes offense got off to a slow start in the first half; however, we scored 2 touchdowns in the last minute of the first half:
- 53-yd interception TD by #10 KAPANES-JONES.
- Successful onside kick by #9 VIGNOLES and recovered by #33 SMARIO.
- 7-yd TD pass from #5 ZAWADSKI to #3 LOCKWOOD.
Acalanes Scoring
Score #1 – #10 KAPLANES-JONES interception for 53-yd TD
Score #2 – #5 ZAWADSKI 7-yd TD pass to #3 LOCKWOOD
Score #3 – #5 ZAWADSKI 21-yd TD pass to #89 ELERTS
Score #4 – #37 EVENS rushed for 1-yd TD
First Downs
Acalanes: 11
Amador: 4
Plays
Acalanes: 44
Amador: 35
Turnovers
Acalanes: 2
Amador: 3
Touchdowns
Acalanes: 4
Amador: 1
Time of Possession
Acalanes: 21:24
Amador: 18:36
Offensive Yards
Acalanes: 247
Amador: 108
Penalties
Acalanes: 7 for 60 yards
Amador: 2 for 10 yards
Passing Yards
Acalanes: 176
Amador: 58
Rushing Yards
Acalanes: 71
Amador: 50
Acalanes Yards
Passing: 176
Rushing: 71
Punt Returns: 30
Interception Returns: 53
Total All-Purpose yards: 330
Touchdowns
Passing: 2
Rushing: 1
Interceptions: 1
Wyatt Zawaski (#5) – QB
Passing: 8 for 14
Passing Completion Rate: 57%
Passing Yards: 129
Longest Pass: 34 yards
Avg Pass: 16
Passing TDs: 2
Interceptions: 2
Lockwood (#3) – WR
Catches: 4 for 83 yards
Longest Catch: 34 yards
Avg Catch: 21 yards
Receiving TDs: 1
Santi Vignoles (#9) – Kicker
PATs: 3 for 4
Kickoffs: 5
Touchbacks: 1
KO Yards: 197
Longest: 60 yards
Avg: 39 yards
Leading Tacklers (17 different players)
#37: Evens: 3 Solo, 1 Asst, 1 TFL
#13: Terhar: 1 Solo, 3 Asst. 1 TFL
#89: Elerts: 1 Solo, 3 Asst, 3 TFL
#2: Schwarz: 4 Asst, 2 TFL
Fumbles Caused
#67: Jackson Crinnion
Fumbles Recovered
#62: Liam Crinnion
Interceptions
#10: Kaplanes-Jones
#3: Lockwood
MaxPrep Players of the Game
Overall: #3 River Lockwood
Offense: #5 Wyatt Zawadski
Defense: #89 Josh Elerts
Special Teams: #9 Santi Vignoles