Thunder and lightning rolled across the Bay Area on Wednesday night as the Acalanes Dons hosted the Mount Diablo Red Devils at Acalanes stadium. They say lightning never strikes the same place twice. Well, lightning struck the field at Acalanes three times on Wednesday night in the form of a trio of Pick 6s by the Dons stellar defense.
Mount Diablo started with the ball and a 1st and 6. Pass rush specialist Julia Munter put an early damper on any hopes of the Devils moving the ball with constant pressure and the Dons forced a quick 3 and out. Wide receiver Maya Shoenhair fielded the punt and had a nice 15 yard return to set up the Dons offense at the Devils’ own 30 yard line. Speedy sophomore running back Isabelle Agnost immediately ripped off a 20 yard run to give the Dons a first and goal from the 15. On the next play, junior quarterback Ines Coyne threw a pass into the endzone. A Mount Diablo defender was able to step in front of the pass for the interception. Despite the nice defensive play, the Devils were now backed up at their own 2 yard line. The Devils had a very shifty wide receiver, London Adams, who had a nice pickup to get Mount Diablo off their own goal line and a holding penalty against the Dons added 10 yards to the play. That is as far as the Devils would get as on the next few plays, Santana Tamayo would get a sack and the defense would force an incompletion on 3rd down. The Devils were forced to punt. Shoenhair again fielded the punt and had a second nice return of 10-15 yards back to midfield. The next drive was all Agnost. Agnost ripped off runs of 10, 15, 15 and 5 to get the Dons down to the Devils 1 yard line. On 4th and goal from the 1, Coyne got her revenge, scampering into the endzone for the touchdown. Coyne then fired a strike to center Leslie Trowbridge on the point after and the Dons led 7-0. The first quarter would end with defensive standout Munter sacking the Devils QB on 3rd down forcing another punt. At the end of the first quarter the Dons had a 7-0 lead.
The second quarter started with Shoenhair returning her third punt of the evening for another 15 yard gain to the Devils’ 25 yard line. Agnost ran for 5, then for 10, chewing up yardage. The drive stalled when on 4th and goal from the 10, Coynes’ pass fell incomplete. As the clouds gathered in the sky over Lafayette, the first bolt of lightning struck on the Devils’ next possession. Munter streaked into the backfield forcing an errant pass by the Devils’ QB. Superstar linebacker Avery DeMent stepped in front of the pass and raced 15 yards into the endzone for the first pick 6 of the night! The point after was a crisp pass to wide receiver Prime Time June Natal and the score was now 14-0. On the Devils next possession, outside linebacker Stella Beuchotte, batted down a pass in the flat on 2nd down. On the next play Beuchotte knocked away another Mount Diablo pass. The thing about lightning is, it seldom strikes only once. On an ill-advised 4th and 5, the Devils QB tried to hit a receiver on the right side for the first down. Coyne, now playing in the secondary, broke on the ball, swerved to the far sideline, outran the Devils’ quarterback and scampered into the endzone for the touchdown. The point after was no good and the score was now 20-0. On the Devils next drive they tried to go deep but the pass was intercepted by Safety Leah Roth who returned the ball to the Devils 18 yard line. A short time later, Coyne pitched to Agnost on an option around the left side. Agnost turned the corner, stuck the ball out in front of her, and crossed the goa line for the score. The PAT was a strike to Shoenhiar and the lead grew to 27-0. The final bolt of lightning came on the Devils next possession. After converting a 4th down attempt the Devils attempted a pass in the left flat. Beuchotte read the pass perfectly, stepped in front and then beat the running back and the quarterback in a race to the endzone. The point after was a laser beam from Coyne to receiver Giovanna Rocha and the score was 34-0. Mount Diablo had one last possession before the half but rusher Malory DeCredico stopped the Devils in their tracks with a sack to close out the half.
In the third quarter, the Devils put together a nice drive fueled by their speedy receiver Adams. The drive started with a sack by Munter, but the Devils were able to string together several chunk plays thanks to Adams, advancing as far as the Dons 26 yard line. Munter was not having it. On 3rd and 7 she knocked down the Devils pass attempt. On the 4th down try, Beuchotte broke up the pass to force the turnover on downs. When the Dons took over it was now Beuchotte at quarterback. Beuchotte pitched left to Agnost for 7. Next play Beuchotte pitched right to Agnost for 15. Beuchotte then completed her fist ever pass as a Don to Shoenhiar for 10. Beuchotte ran for 6. She handed off to Munter for 7. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Dons had a first and goal from the Devils 17 yard line and a 34 – 0 lead.
The 4th quarter saw Beuchotte have several nice runs and complete crisp passes to receivers Amelia Riley and Tamayo. Both teams kept each other out of the endzone and as lightning continued to light up the sky the clock hit triple zeros on the Dons 10th consecutive win of the season to remain unbeaten. It was reported that Head Coach Mike Ivankovich said he has never been 10 – 0 before in his long, distinguished career. You have now coach. Don’t get too used to it though because 11-0 sounds even better. Go Dons!!
