By John Linker
In front of a Homecoming crowd gathered for the Healdsburg Greyhounds’ first official league football game of the 2024-25 season, the varsity team fell 13-18 to the San Rafael Bulldogs last Friday night at Rec Park.
The Hounds are coming off a series of exciting non-division games that saw them break their three-year losing streak with three wins and two school records for senior quarterback Nova Perrill II. They took their first loss to Montgomery the week prior—but charged into Friday’s big home game looking sharp, confident and ready.
It was a tale of two halves. Hopes were high through the first half as the Hounds held off the Bulldogs to score the game’s only points through halftime. In the first five minutes, the Hounds’ offensive line provided such staunch protection for their quarterback, Perrill, that he put up the first score of the night with an eight-yard pass to a leaping Max Morris in the end zone. Christian Camacho Ruiz landed the extra point, bringing the score to 7-0.
The first half then fell into a steady change of downs between teams. While the Hounds’ offense stalled for the rest of the half, their defense—with the help of some notable tackles by John Wallace and Morris, each with six total—managed to overpower the threatening pass game of the Bulldogs, led by junior quarterback Lachlan Royston and tight end Haden Berlinsky. This evenly matched, back-and-forth play ended the half with the score still at 7-0 for Healdsburg.
After a lively halftime show full of colorful floats and the crowning of royalty for Healdsburg’s Homecoming, the second half of play took a discouraging turn.
San Rafael’s Berlinsky returned the opening kickoff for a whopping 78-yard touchdown. Within 11 seconds of the second half, the score was 7-6. Even though the Bulldogs missed the extra point, this felt like a pivotal moment that turned the tide.
Head coach Criss Rosales didn’t think it was a question of momentum. “It all had to do with failing to make the adjustments we talked about at half time, and failing to execute those adjustments,” he told the Tribune after the game.
Indeed: The Hounds struggled to get anything going in the third quarter, while the Bulldogs played near-perfect football. An interception turnover and a costly penalty soon led to another San Rafael touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion, the score was still a tight 7-12. With 5 minutes, 20 seconds to go in the third quarter, the Bulldogs took advantage of a thwarted punt by Healdsburg—and from the Hounds’ own 25-yard line, struck again with another touchdown pass by Royston.
The Bulldogs settled into an efficient running game and controlled the clock for the rest of the night. The Hounds rallied back in the fourth quarter, but not until it was too late. With only 45 seconds left in the game, quarterback Perrill connected with Morris again for a 22-yard pass. The missed two-point conversion forced an unsuccessful onside kick, and the hard-fought game ended with a score of 13-18.
Still, since San Rafael is slated as one of the favorites to win the newly formed Mountain Division, the game’s evenly matched play and close score say a lot about how far Healdsburg has come—and how far they might go this season. For the first time in years, the Hounds appear to be league contenders.
This Friday night, Hounds (0-1 league, 3-2 overall) go on the road to play the Novato Hornets (1-0 league, 3-1 overall) at Novato High School at 7pm. Last week against Archie Williams High School, the Hornets showed off an offense that can both successfully run and pass, but won by only three points. Look for another close game.
