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| Patterson christens field with win against Escalon |
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| Written by Mike Vanden Bosch / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Wednesday, 19 September 2007 | |
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“We knew it would be the biggest game with the field and the environment. We just wanted to give them a good performance. I had great blocking from my linemen, and my receivers ran phenomenal routes.” -Daniel Reza  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 artificial turf 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.” Receivers Robby Samano and Ronyea Ellington bore proof that Patterson wasn’t content with a 14-7 halftime lead. Each brought a capacity Patterson home crowd to its feet with second-half touchdown receptions that preserved the Tigers’ lead.  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator When Patterson needed a big boost to turn the tide, its defense rose to the occasion. Samano, playing safety, intercepted Escalon quarterback Nick Aprile’s overthrown pass at the 14-yard line and returned it 21 yards early in the second quarter. With good field position, the Tigers were poised to get on the scoreboard. A 20-yard pass to running back Keith Yamamoto and a 39-yard completion to Ellington accounted for the bulk of Patterson’s 65-yard drive. In the red zone, Patterson turned to a familiar source of strength and power in Gordie Inocencio, who blasted into the end zone from 1 yard out with 8:30 left in the first half, his second touchdown of the season. He had 153 yards and a touchdown in Patterson’s 30-7 season-opening win over Immanuel. After a dropped 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.  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator “The kids were resilient,” Patterson football coach Rob Cozart said. “We fought through a couple calls that didn’t go our way. Who would have thought this was only the second game of the season?” 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, who headlined the Tigers’ defense with double-digit tackles. Patterson also benefited from the off-again, on-again second-half absence of Aprile, who was injured early in the second half. The Escalon quarterback had 107 rushing yards on eight carries in the first half, but just 27 rushing yards in the second half. Yamamoto’s defensive stop paid immediate dividends for the Tigers. Reza found an open receiver in Samano, who scampered untouched down the left sideline for 66 yards to boost Patterson’s lead to 21-7 with 5:37 left. “We had to take whatever Escalon was going to give us,” 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.” 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. Falling back under pressure, Reza found Ellington, a 6-foot-2 receiver in one-on-one coverage, on a perfect pass to the right corner of the end zone. Ellington leaped over 5-foot-8 Escalon cornerback Dan Thompson and hauled in the 19-yard touchdown pass. “That was an amazing catch by Ronyea,” Reza said. “And our defense really stepped up tonight.” Patterson capped the defensive effort when back Brian Serpa picked off an Escalon pass at the 10-yard line with 2:08 remaining. The junior varsity fell to 1-1 overall in a 32-19 loss to Escalon. On Friday, Patterson will host Sierra, which improved to 2-0 with a 25-3 win over Manteca High. The JV kicks off at 5:30 p.m., followed by varsity at 7:30 p.m. 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
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I enjoy reading your articles very often. Please watch yourself safe at the Patterson football game tonight. Take it easy.
God always be with you. Keep your chin up and be positive.