Windsor continues tough stretch on Friday at Cardinal Newman
The Jaguars began their toughest stretch on the 2019 schedule with a Friday, Oct. 11 home tilt with perennial power Rancho Cotate, with the Cougars using a strong second half to notch a 33-20 victory.
The setback dropped the Jags to 1-1 in the North Bay League Oak Division and 5-2 overall, while Rancho improved to 1-1 and 4-3.
Things won’t get any easier for Windsor this week when they travel to take on juggernaut Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa. Kickoff times for the JV and varsity are 4:30 and 7 p.m.
Despite the obvious obstacles facing his squad this week, Jag’s head coach Brad Stibi will have his charges fired up and ready to go.
“Newman is a well coached and disciplined team,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Second half keys Rancho win
Things started well enough for the Jaguars in the Oct. 11 clash with Rancho Cotate, answering an early Cougar score with a pair of second quarter touchdowns. Windsor got on the board early in the second when quarterback Billy Boyle capped a drive with a 15-yards scoring strike to receiver Nico Contreras.
Moments later, defender Nico Zamora stunned the Cougars with a 22-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Jags led 14-7 at the half.
Rancho Cotate, led by quarterback Jared Stocker, went to work in the critical third quarter, engineering a pair of scoring drives culminating in touchdown passes to re-take the lead at 20-14 after three.
The Jaguars would no go quietly, as Boyle hooked up with senior receiver Landen Estrela on a short scoring pass, but the Cougars drove for two late touchdowns that put the game on ice to post a 33-20 victory.
“We played well in the first half but couldn’t get the job done,” Stibi said. “We had too many mental mistakes, which you can’t have against a good team. Hopefully we’ll get another chance to play them,” he added.
Boyle finished a solid night under center with 17 completions on 35 pass attempts for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Leading rushers were Jeremiah Pignataro (10-40 yards) and Lorenzo Leon (9-16 yards). Top receivers included Contreras (7-78 yards, TD), Trent Matthews (2-44 yards) and Estrela (3-17 yards, TD).
Leading defenders were Oscar Mayorga (6 tackles, 1 assist, sack), Julian Pell (5, 2), Pignataro (5, 1), Zamora (3, 2, sack, 2 INTs, TD), Leon (3, 3), Lucas Fowler (4 tackles), Gianni Domenichelli (4, 2), Cristian Sanchez (3, 1), Contreras (3 tackles), Estrela (3 tackles), Jacob Thrall (2, 1), Kaleb Torres (2, 1), Joey Skinner (2, 1), Aryian Chavaria (2 tackles), Jake Sievers (2 tackles), Zac Keith (1, 1), Keaton Vail (1, 1) and EZ Woodard (1 tackle).
