Saint Ignatius @ Acalanes, September 11th

The Acalanes Dons home opener was touted by many as the game of the season. And it was delivered. High scoring, packed with highlights. Acalanes led throughout the match up, but unfortunately late in the fourth quarter, Saint Ignatius scored, and left little time for the Dons to get back to work.

While both teams put up a lot of points, the Don’s defense had some exceptional play. Top tackler on the night was Dax Vail (44) with seven. Kyle Sanftner (54) and Sean Tandler (87), followed closely with six each. The line put plenty of pressure on the SI QB and backs. Danny Dunne (77), AJ Jeffery (99) and Tandler (87) delivered notable stress. Cash Ricker (55) had a key TFL.

The edge and the backfield was also well protected. Mason Andersen (27) broke up a pass and had an interception. Grant Condy (3) had great deep coverage, and also came away with an interception. Luke Dafferner (18) played well with three tackles and clear pressure on quarterback. Dax Vail (44) and Max Volpian (7) had the defensive play of the game. Vail (44) punched out the ball, and Volpian (7) had the presence to recover the very contested forced fumble. Dax & Max, hard combo to beat.

Jonny Rubin (16) was basically kicking perfection. He was five for five on the point after. Completed his first field goal of the season. And his kick-offs were mostly untouchable.

The Don’s offense was spectacular. Tyler Winkles (6) was a personal highlight reel, with a total offensive haul of 457 yards. He completed 23 passes to six receivers for a total of 375 yards. He had a total 82 yards on the ground. Threw for three touchdowns, ran for one.

Finely Rivera (13) also put up some impressive numbers. He had three carries and an impressive 10 receptions for 175 yards. QB Winkles (6) connected with him for three touchdowns. Jackson Boselli (4) hauled in five receptions for 145 yards. QB Winkles (6) also connected with: AJ Del Santo (9), Condy (3), Finn Aiken (15) and Tandler (87). Joaquin Bordi (26) once again stepped up with 13 carries, one of those for six points.

In the end, the Don’s lost their lead with only 28 seconds on the clock. They got the ball to mid-field, with time left for two powerful Hail Marys, the ball bounced around defenders and receivers, but sadly did not end in the Don’s grip. We can only speculate but the way this offense was playing, if it had been 1:28 left on clock, this writer believes it would have led to six. We just ran out of time.

Good news, will get another chance, same time, same place next Friday.