Defense, defense and more defense was the name of the game for the Los Banos Tiger JV football team (3-1-1) last Friday night in Modesto, against the Gregori Jaguars.
Both teams featured outstanding defenses, limiting their opponents’ offenses to just one score each, as the two teams ended up with an 8-8 tie.
The Jaguars scored on their very first play from scrimmage when Gil Sanchez rambled 77 yards for a touchdown, and then David Chavez ran in the two-point conversion to give Gregori an 8-0 lead.
However, that was all the Tiger defense would allow on this night, as the Los Banos defenders shut the door on the Jaguar offense.
Zachery Yates (11 tackles, 4 QB sacks), along with Luke Borelli (8 tackles), Nelson Fabian (7 tackles), Mason Robinson (5 tackles) and Coelho (5 tackles), led the Tiger defense that was stellar the rest of the game.
The Gregori defense was equally tough, limiting the young Tigers to just 157 yards of total offense and the one score.
Los Banos would finally tie the score late in the first half, when the Tigers marched 58 yards in eight plays. Tiger quarterback Zaevin Cancino (2/13 passing, 53 yards, 9 carries, 43 yards) connected on his only two passes of the game, the first was a 40 yard strike to a diving Maggio Carter, and then a 15 yard toss to Marcos Wheeler to set up a four yard touchdown run by Bradley Villagrana (7 carries, 8 yards, TD).
Michael Coelho (9 carries, 38 yards, PAT) then ran in the two-point conversion to tie the score at 8-8 just before halftime.
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the second half, but neither team could find the endzone in the final two periods of play.
Tiger junior varsity receiver, Maggio Carter catches a 40-yard pass.
Quarterback sacks by Yates stalled three of Gregori’s four second-half possessions, and then, with 32 seconds left in the game and the Jaguars on the Tiger 11-yard line, Maggio Carter came up with a game-saving pass interception in the end zone to preserve the tie.
The Tigers will enjoy a week off, with their bye week this week, and then they will begin CCC league play on Oct. 3, when they travel to Merced to battle the El Capitan Gauchos. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
