“We had to take whatever Escalon was going to give us,”
- Rob Cozart, PHS Varsity Coach
On a night filled with pomp and pageantry, Patterson High quarterback Daniel Reza let his arm provide the most magical moments of all. Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
Reza threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns as Patterson overcame an early deficit to defeat small-school power Escalon 28-13, christening the new FieldTurf at Patterson Community Stadium.
“We knew it would be the biggest game with the field and the environment,” Reza said. “We just wanted to give them a good performance. I had great blocking from my linemen and my receivers ran phenomenal routes.”
Escalon struck first on a two-yard touchdown run from Jesus Duran, capping a 12-play drive that gave the Cougars (1-1) a 7-0 lead with 1:59 left in the first quarter.
But when Patterson needed a big boost to turn the tide, it turned to a familiar source of strength and power in Keith Yamamoto.
Yamamoto, 5-foot-10, 195-pound fullback, tied the game at 7-7 when he blasted into the end zone from a yard out with 8:30 left in the first half. Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
After a dropped a pass in the end zone stalled Escalon deep in Patterson territory, the Tigers took the lead for good on what seemed like a routine screen pass.
But Yamamoto did the extraordinary by rumbling 73 yards for the score, breaking several tackles to give Patterson a 14-7 lead with 3:19 left in the first half.
After Escalon and Patterson stalled on their initial drives of the second half, Escalon had its next drive cut short on a huge fourth down tackle by Yamamoto.
The defensive stop paid immediate dividends for Patterson. Reza found an open receiver in Robby Samano, who scampered untouched down the left sideline for 66 yards to up Patterson’s lead to 21-7 with 5:37 left in the third quarter.
Escalon countered with a 6-yard touchdown from Rocky Overturf to cut Patterson’s lead to 21-13 with 8:45 to go in the game.
Following a fumble recovery by Patterson’s Imani Brown three minutes later at the Escalon 19-yard line, Reza saved his best for last to effectively seal the game. Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
Falling back under pressure, Reza found 6-foot-2 receiver Ronyea Ellington in 1-on-1 coverage on a perfect pass to the right corner of the end zone. Ellington skied over 5-foot-8 Escalon cornerback Dan Thompson and hauled in the 19-yard touchdown pass.
“We had to take whatever Escalon was going to give us,” Patterson coach Rob Cozart said. “We had to take full advantage of the mismatches. We were able to get some big plays. This was a December-type playoff game. The kids got the job done.”
Secondary members Robby Samano and Brian Serpa punctuated the defensive effort with an interception apiece to stop two Escalon drives. Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator
To reach Mike Vanden Bosch at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
