The Dons took at early lead in the first quarter when the Acalanes defense forced a turnover on downs on S.I.’s first possession. #2 Jayden Lifson blocked the opponent’s punt and ran the ball into the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN…aaaaand the kick is good. Dons were up 7-0.
The S.I. offense came up empty on their second possession of the game due to tight D by the Dons. #4 Leland Stone, #18 Jake Mikalis, #64 Aiden Jeffery, # 62 Beau Tandler and #17 Mateo Valenzuela all made key defensive plays to force another turnover on downs.
The Dons quickly scored again on their next possession — #7 Luke Kelly handed off to #4 Leland Stone for the TOUCHDOWN! Dons led 13-0.
S.I.’s next possession ended with a sack by Leland and Mateo! Tackles by Jayden, and #22 AJ Bishop helped pressure the opponent. Another turnover for S.I.
The first half ended with the Dons up 13-6 over S.I. Dons defense played well with tackles by #47 Stone Jaquet, Luke and Leland. S.I. scored a touchdown, but couldn’t even get 7 because Jayden blocked the extra point! The Dons kept the momentum in their favor heading into halftime.
Luke Kelly came back strong in the second half despite a nasty helmet to helmet hit late in the second quarter. Luke had an 80 yard TOUCHDOWN pass under intense pressure by S.I. to #18 Jake Mikalis to put the Dons ahead 19-6!!
The remainder of the game was a defensive one for the Dons as they held their opponent to 6 points! What a feat for these freshman. Defensive plays were made by Leland (tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack!), Jayden (tackle and forced incomplete), Jaquet (tackles, a blocked pass and an interception in the end zone to end the game!), Aiden (tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack!), Jake (tackle and forced incomplete pass), #24 Jackson Cooper (forced incomplete pass for a turnover), #78 Kanishka Giridhar (tackle and tackle for loss), #15 Will Griffin (tackle), Mateo (tackles and multiple sacks!)
The Dons know their homework for the week (penalties, anyone?) as they head into week 4 with a 2-1 record. The freshman team will face College Park at home on Thursday, September 18th at 5:00 p.m. Come out and cheer for your Dons!