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| Tigers dig deep in comeback |
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| Written by Mike Vanden Bosch / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 10 October 2007 | |
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"Everyone was pumped up after Keith's speech"
Armed with a 4-0 record going into Friday’s contest against Calaveras, the Patterson High football team wasn’t accustomed to losing, let alone surrendering early leads. So when Patterson trailed in the third quarter for the first time all season, gut-check time came earlier than anticipated. But the Tigers responded by stopping Calaveras on a fourth down in the red zone, blocking a punt and intercepting a pass at midfield for a 34-27 comeback victory at home.  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator “We needed to step it up in the second half,” Patterson coach Rob Cozart said. “As the game wore on, we started getting better and adjusting. We started making plays we needed to. Both teams played their hearts out. Somebody had to win; thank God it was us.” Patterson (5-0) had no trouble establishing an early 14-0 lead on touchdown runs of five and eight yards from Robby Samano in the first quarter. But Calaveras exploited Patterson’s run defense on its next drive, signaling a virtual collapse of the Tigers’ defensive tackling. Uncharacteristic of Patterson’s run defense, which had only allowed three rushing touchdowns in four games, Calaveras running back Dillon Hogsdon broke several tackles en route to a 64-yard scamper. He scored on a 2-yard run with 21 seconds left in the first quarter to cut Patterson’s lead to 14-6. The Tigers quickly responded with a 78-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Daniel Reza to Ronyea Ellington down the right sideline to up the lead to 21-6 early in the second quarter. Calaveras turned to its ground game to erase a two-touchdown deficit. Phino Lavatai broke through the middle of the field in a 59-yard touchdown run, and an interception by Danny Walter paved the way for a second score, a 5-yard Jake Mote touchdown.  Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator On the ensuing drive, Calaveras ran roughshod over Patterson’s run defense all the way to the 2-yard line. On the final play of the first half, the Tigers stopped Lavatai just short of the goal line as time ran out. At halftime, Yamamoto, Patterson’s anchor at middle linebacker, energized his teammates with an impassioned locker room speech that centered on Patterson’s tackling and defensive assignments. “In the first half, we got away from our base defense,” Yamamoto said. “We usually play defense to fill all the lanes. Everybody was over-pursuing and not doing their jobs. When that happens, then big holes obviously open up and they get big gains.” It took a while for Yamamoto’s message to sink in. Lavatai scored on a 5-yard touchdown to give Calaveras a 27-24 lead with 4:36 left in the third quarter. The Redskins also recovered a fumble less than a minute later at the Patterson 20-yard line. Then came Patterson’s moment to shine. Facing the prospect of going down two scores if Calaveras found the end zone, the Redskins stopped Mote on a fourth-and-one at the 11-yard line. “Everyone was pumped up after Keith’s speech,” defensive back Josh Ham said. “Everyone knew they had to crack down on themselves and to help the team win.” Lifted by the defensive stop, Patterson regained the lead for good by marching 89 yards on nine plays, culminating in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Reza to Samano down the left sideline. Patterson led 31-27 with 11:13 left in the game. Patterson’s defense forced two straight three-and-outs from Calaveras before Josh Ham blocked a punt, and Siaosi Tupouata returned the block to the Redskins’ 6-yard line. It set up a 23-yard field goal from Eric Mejia for a 34-27 lead with 4:33 to go. “The blocked punt wasn’t even a call,” Cozart said. “It was Josh Ham seeing an opportunity. Their punter took a long time, and we went for it and made an amazing play.” Samano also intercepted a wobbly pass on a halfback option near midfield with 3:37 left in the game to thwart a possible Calaveras drive. The Redskins advanced to the Patterson 31-yard line in the game’s final 15 seconds, but Patterson knocked down two desperation passes in the end zone to preserve the win. “We’ll go back to basics on tackling,” Cozart said. “We stuffed Calaveras early on in the run. Our reads weren’t so bad. It was just a lot of bad tackling. We’re at full strength now. We get (fullback) Gordie Inocencio back, so we’ll hit league and be ready to go.” Patterson begins its league schedule Friday when it travels to face Gustine, a team that has struggled in preseason. The Redskins, 0-5 overall, have scored only 20 points and were shut out in their first three games. They lost 33-6 to Waterford Friday. While a 5-0 unbeaten mark in preseason bodes well for Patterson’s No. 3 ranking among California Division IV teams, Yamamoto believes there’s much more at stake in league. “The important thing was to celebrate this game tonight, go back to work and start looking at film,” Yamamoto said. “League is more important. We got to get ready for our next opponent and eventually get ready for Central (on Oct. 26).” Varsity kickoff is 7:30 p.m., preceded by the JV at 5:30 p.m. To reach Play Editor 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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