The varsity football Lions wrapped up a resurgent league
campaign on Friday, dropping a 41-27 decision to Healdsburg at
Recreation Park.
The game signaled the end of the best regular-season in a decade
for the Lions, pushing their overall record to 6-4 and 3-3 in the
SCL. El Mo will enjoy a bye this week and then await a likely North
Coast Section Division-4 playoff berth later this month.
Divisional clash
The Lions entered Friday’s clash on a roll, riding the wave of a
three-game win streak, including a stunning, 20-7 win over Windsor
a week earlier.
The game showcased the talent of two of the top offensive
players in the league in El Mo senior quarterback Mike Pierson and
Healdsburg senior running back Carson Seanor. Both lived up to the
hype, turning in a pair of great performances.
Pierson, the 6’ 4” 220-pounder who has college scouts salivating
with every game, flashed his considerable talent with precision
passing on a variety of throws, displaying a combination of
arm-strength and touch.
Seanor, the league’s leading rusher, was nothing short of
spectacular, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark with 23 carries for 229
yards and three scores, adding 41 yards receiving and one
touchdown. Seanor’s performance was the sixth best single-game
rushing performance in school history, and ran his season total to
1,193 yards and 20 touchdowns.
But even with all of the offensive heroics, one could say that
it was the hard-nosed play of the Healdsburg defensive unit that
would prove the difference in this game.
The Hounds capped a six-play, 79-yard drive midway through the
opening quarter when quarterback Max Opperman hooked up with Seanor
on a screen pass that the senior back took 41 yards to the house.
Kicker Martin Chesley added the PAT boot and Healdsburg led, 7-0.
The Lions answered late in the period when Pierson led a 58-yard
march, fueled by a long pass to Jordan Nordby and culminating in a
one-yard keeper to knot the game at 7-7.
Healdsburg linebacker George Brush had a big hand in the Hounds’
next score, picking off a Pierson pass in the El Mo red zone, to
set up his own 15-yard touchdown reception from Opperman for a 14-7
advantage. The Lions wasted no time as Pierson connected with
receiver Levi Karns on an 18-yard scoring strike to knot the
contest at 14-all at the break.
The Greyhounds cranked up their vaunted running game in the
third quarter, as Seanor began to rip off huge chunks of real
estate. Healdsburg went ahead for good midway through the frame,
when Opperman converted a key fourth and long deep in El Mo
territory with a 32-yard scoring strike. The PAT failed and the
Hounds led, 20-14.
Opperman had his team smelling blood moments later when he
recovered a fumble at the Lion’s 40 and then directed a drive
ending on a four-yard touchdown scamper by Seanor for a 27-14 lead.
Healdsburg finished off a third-quarter explosion on its next
possession, as Seanor broke loose on a 46-yard lightening bolt and
a 34-14 bulge at the end of three.
The Lions did not pack it in, clawing back early in the fourth
period when Pierson and senior all-purpose receiver Joe Douglass
hooked up on a one-yard scoring pass on a fourth and goal to make
it a 34-20 ballgame.
The Lion’s comeback bid effectively died with the ensuing
on-side kick attempt, as Healdsburg return-man Matt Spillane
fielded the kick and took it deep into El Mo territory. The play
set up a five-yard scoring run from Seanor- his fourth of the game
for a 41-21 advantage. The Lions capped the evening fireworks late
in the fourth with a five-yard keeper by back-up quarterback John
Carlson for the eventual, 41-27 Healdsburg victory.
Pierson finished up a solid night under center completing 16 of
28 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown, adding one score on the
ground. Other top offensive players were Chet “The Jet” Lambert
(25-114 yards rushing), Wyatt Lopez (8-38 yards rushing), Nordby
(5-77 receiving), Douglass (4-30 receiving, TD), Nate Palmer (3-27
yards receiving), Garrit Afman (2-13 receiving), Karns (1-18
receiving, TD), and Toree Smith (1-17 receiving.
Top defenders included Aren Vierra (7 tackles), Douglas (5
tackles, 1 assist), Nordby (5 tackles), Dylan Licciardo (5
tackles), Calvin Sandeen (5 tackles), Eric Reab (3, 3), Dalton
Hemphill (2 tackles), Lambert (4 assists), Carlson (1, 1), and a
tackle apiece from Jared Garner, Afman, and Lopez.
Tigers preparing for league finale
Analy (4-5, 1-4) is coming off of a much-needed bye week and
will close out the SCL campaign this Friday, Nov. 12 against
visiting Sonoma. Game times at Karlson Field beginning with the JV
are 5 and 7:30 p.m.
