LAFAYETTE — Acalanes gave its homecoming crowd plenty to celebrate Friday night, pairing a suffocating defense with another record-setting pace from quarterback Tyler Winkles in a 42-15 win over American Canyon. Winkles threw for 427 yards and five touchdowns, while the Dons defense forced five punts and came up with three fourth-down stops as Acalanes improved to 4-1 on the season.
The offense piled up 551 total yards, and the defense repeatedly slammed the door whenever American Canyon tried to build momentum.
Winkles was nearly flawless, completing 19 of 26 passes and adding a rushing touchdown for good measure, accounting for all six Acalanes scores. The senior has now thrown for 1,837 yards and 20 touchdowns through five games, averaging 367 passing yards per game. He is now the top rated QB in the North Coast Section and ranked fifth in California.
Senior receiver Grant Condy was one of Winkles’ favorite targets on the night, hauling in four passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. He had plenty of company. Senior Jackson Boselli caught five balls for 120 yards and two scores, and senior Finn Rivera led the team with six receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Joaquin Bordi had his best game of the season, rushing 11 times for 91 yards.
Boselli and Rivera are the #1 and #2 wideouts in the North Coast section after 5 games. The two are separated by 2 yards! Boselli has 607 yards on the season and Rivera has 605 yards. Both have 7tds on the season.
On the other side of the ball, the defense was stifling. Junior linebacker Dax Vail was everywhere, finishing with a team-high 13 tackles, 10 of them solo stops. Senior Luke Dafferner added 10 tackles, and the two anchored a unit that racked up nine tackles for loss.
Senior lineman Daniel “The Job Is” Dunne was a disruptive force up front, recording a sack, a fumble recovery, seven tackles and two tackles for loss. Junior Sean Tandler also got home for a sack and finished with six tackles and two TFLs.
Sophomore kicker Jonny Rubin was perfect on the night, converting all six of his extra-point attempts. For Rubin, it was strictly business, never personal. The steady night moved him alone into second place in the North Coast section in kick scoring, and he is now 25 of 26 on the season.
American Canyon managed a pair of interceptions, but the Acalanes defense never let the turnovers turn into a momentum swing.
The Dons are off next week but will return to the gridiron with a tilt against crosstown foe Las Lomas on 10/9 at 7pm in The Nut.
