By Caleb Knudsen
The North Coast Section’s Mountain division season has proven a disappointment for the Healdsburg Greyhounds—so far. With three straight non-league wins to open the season, Healdsburg fans were delirious with hope, and dreams of a complete Cinderella turnabout from the recent seasons.
But fairy tales only occasionally come true. In three successive games the Hounds have fallen to their league foes: San Rafeal, Novato and, last Friday, to Piner. The final score, 56-21, was marked by the most points allowed by the Greyhounds this season, a result that was foretold by the opening kickoff. Piner junior Kevin Medina ran it back for a TD to give the hosting Prospectors seven points before the game clock’s second hand made a full sweep.
With the ball in hand, the Greyhounds ate up the clock and drove downfield, scoring on a 28-yard pass from QB Nova Perrill II to Hayden Mariani, and for a few minutes the tie score was an inspiration. But the Prospects struck back as Piner’s Soso Prak connected with Jaden Hernandez for their first of three touchdowns, and for Piner at least it was off to the races.
Healdsburg drew close midway through the second frame with a rushing touchdown by Frank Rea, making the score 21-14, but Piner wasn’t finished scoring either in the half or the game. They amassed a 43-14 lead at halftime, at which point the Healdsburg scorer on MaxPreps apparently took a break from which he never returned, so the game statistics remain a work in progress.
Perrill had a steady if unremarkable game, completing 8 of 19 attempts for 85 yards. He gained almost as many yards on the ground, 80 in 11 carries including a touchdown run. Frank Rea’s 16 carries brought him 83 yards, while Mariani was the leading receiver with 53 yards on three receptions.
Defensively, Nathaniel Rowland had eight tackles including a sack; but Perrill himself was on the run in his backfield throughout, being thrown for a loss six times, four times by Carson Kennedy.
The 56-14 final score put the 0-3 Greyhounds firmly in last place in the Mountain division, behind 0-2 Terra Linda. Terra Linda, in fact, is the team that the Greyhounds face on Friday night at Rec Park.
The Trojans’ 3-3 overall record this year, 0-2 in the league, suggests it might be an opportunity for the host Hounds to chalk up their first division win since 2017.
They last met a year ago, and Terra Linda handed the Greyhounds a 49-19 loss. But that was last year. They are a different team this year, as are the Greyhounds.
Game time is 7pm at Rec Park. As announcer Dick Burgarske likes to say, “Everybody up for the kickoff!”
