The varsity football Lions notched their most impressive win of the 2016 campaign on Friday at Recreation Park in Healdsburg, using a big-play offense to spoil the Greyhound’s Homecoming party in a 47-20 victory.
The win in the annual clash now dubbed the “Battle for the Paddle,” was the second straight for El Molino, pushing its unbeaten league record to 2-0 and an even 3-3 on the year. The Lions will enjoy a bye on the schedule this week before resuming league action against visiting Elsie Allen on Oct. 14.
Although Friday’s lopsided win over Healdsburg was not considered a huge upset, it was more the way it unfolded that created a buzz in the El Mo camp.
“We were able to get the ball in the hands of our athletes, thanks to our quarterback Avery Ransome,” Lions head coach Randy Parmeter said. “Our defense played well, but gave up two big plays.”
El Mo had the Greyhounds on their heels from the opening gun on Friday, benefiting from a string of big plays to grab an early advantage.
The Lions quieted the Hounds’ Homecoming crowd in the first quarter, as Ransome hooked up with receiver Jack Fricker on a 20-yard scoring pass for a 7-0 lead.
The El Mo defense came up big on the ensuing series when Lions defensive back Daniel Diaz picked off a Healdsburg pass and raced 50 yards into Hounds’ territory. The play set up another 15-yard scoring pass to Fricker and the Lions led 14-0.
The teams traded touchdowns on a barrage of big plays in a wide open second quarter, including two touchdown passes by Hounds quarterback Levi Yeley. Ransome found pay-dirt on touchdown runs of 75 and 25 yards as the Lions took a 28-14 lead at the half.
Things didn’t get much brighter for the Greyhounds after intermission, yielding a pair of long touchdowns runs by El Mo slot receiver Daniel Diaz, followed by a late scoring plunge by reserve quarterback Jacob Sani as the Lions powered to a 47-20 win.
Although no official stats were available, the Lions got outstanding defensive efforts from Sire Clark, Jake Peter, Robert Rader, Diaz and Sani.
Analy Homecoming
Analy (1-0, 4-1) is coming off a bye week and will resume league play this Friday, Oct. 7 in the annual Homecoming Game against visiting Sonoma Valley (5/7:30 p.m.).
