By John Linker
One could feel autumn’s cool beginnings last Friday night at Rec Park’s Art McCaffrey Field. Before a sold-out audience, packed student section and the even beats of the Greyhound Band, the explosive Montgomery Knights toppled the Hounds, dropping Healdsburg’s perfect run of 3-0 to 3-1.
This one hurt.
It could have been mistakes made, balls fumbled or penalties called, but in the end, the Vikings proved their strength and quickness throughout the rugged game. Coach Rosales put it bluntly, “It is very difficult to win against any team when we turn the ball over five times and those possessions all lead to scores.”
The Greyhounds had a tough first quarter. On the first play of the game, after a promising return by Frank Rea, the Hounds fumbled on their own 19-yard-line, setting up the first of many touchdowns for Montgomery. Vikings quarterback Thor Boswell found one of his favorite receivers of the night, Jayden Cuellar, in the end zone for a quick 6 points with not even two minutes used up in the quarter.
The fumble seemed to affect the nerves of the Hounds, because on the next set of downs, they were sacked once, fumbled again and punted it away.
Making no mistakes, the Vikings looked sharp, strong and quick as again they marched along. With 4:10 left in the quarter, Boswell found his running back, Jhowens Montoban, in the end zone. After a two-point conversion the score was 14-0.
Trouble continued for the Hounds, when after another strong return from Rea, they fumbled on a broken play and turned it over to the Vikings, who wasted no time in scoring again on another pass to Cuellar and with another two-point conversion made the score 22-0.
Get It Going
It wasn’t until the end of the quarter, with their classic mix-it-up offense, that the Hounds got something going. After Rea’s longest return of the night of over 45 yards, coupled with a personal foul penalty against the Vikings, Healdsburg suddenly had the ball on the 30-yard-line in Viking territory. On the very next play, another Viking personal foul put the Hounds in the red zone. The next play Nova Perrill II, with one of his signature fake follow-throughs, handed off to Hayden Mariani who scored, waking up the crowd and bringing the Healdsburg High band to life.
The Hounds settled in, and for a while that magical blend of staunch defense and stellar offense returned to the field. With 1:38 left in the quarter, Nathaniel Rowland made a show-stopping tackle near the 40-yard-line. Next, Rea intercepted a long pass from Boswell, and finally the Hounds looked like a 3-0 team. Then on first down, with 45 seconds left in the quarter, Perrill connected with a 75-yard pass play to Hayden Mariani for a touchdown, and suddenly it was 22-14. The crowd roared; the band played on.
The beginning of the second quarter Healdsburg continued their wizardly play of defense and offense. After a saving tackle on the kick-off by Andrew Barr, the Hounds stopped the Vikings in their first set of downs and regained the ball on their own 38-yard-line.
Healdsburg controlled the clock for the first time, and methodically made their way up field. Rea, who reminds one of a ball in a pinball machine, bouncing off defenders, hurdling and twirling forward, took the ball downfield for a 30-yard-plus run, only to be called back because of a holding penalty.
Still, getting closer to the goal line, they continued to move downfield. Perrill showed great patience with every play, and with 7:49 left on the clock on a fourth down, threw to Max Morris for the Hounds’ third touchdown. After a missed 2-point conversion, it was 22-20.
Yet before the end of the half, the Vikings answered back with one more score and both teams left the field needing a well-earned rest. In the second half, however, Montgomery reasserted their dominance, scoring.
Finally, in the end, the Vikings showed their reserve and resolve with a remarkable display of strong blocking and agile offense. It was just too much for the Greyhounds, who were going up against a school three times their size, and Montgomery scored four unanswered touchdowns, in the end winning the game 50-20.
“We had a legitimate ball game versus a division 3 opponent on Friday; we just kept making costly mistakes and penalties,” coach Criss Rosales said. Perhaps because of that, and the absence of running back and linebacker Alexander Harms, who broke his clavicle during last week’s day game against Berean Christian, the Hounds could neither make headway nor stop the running game of the Vikings.
Standouts
Healdsburg standouts include the Hounds’ Mariani who had a total of 91 receiving yards with two touchdowns, and Max Morris, who not only scored a touchdown at the end of the half, but also played impressive defense with 14 total tackles, 12 of those solo.
The Healdsburg Hounds varsity football team are a fun bunch to watch. Somehow, coach Rosales has instilled an ethic that evokes both strong performance and enthusiasm. But more than that, the Hounds seem to play with a lot of love for the game.
And though any player would feel down because of a loss, there were still moments that reminded the crowd that this was a game being played by teenagers who were having fun on the field. Moments like Dillan Jocius skipping his way to huddle, Frank Rea’s smile after an interception, Perrill’s connection to his head coach with every offensive play, and Rowland’s and Wallace’s exuberance after a tackle.
Reflecting on non-league play, Rosales said, “Going into league play there’s a new confidence the kids haven’t had in years. They have seen their hard work pay off in wins. That is enough motivation for the kids to go into this new league and try to make a statement of the new identity of Healdsburg football.”
The Greyhounds’ first league game comes this Friday, Sept. 27, starting at 7pm at Rec Park. It is also Healdsburg’s Homecoming game, and will include the annual float parade pageantry and celebration of school royalty.
