Atwater High football coach Seneca Ybarrra didn’t hesitate. Ybarra already had a two-point play ready to call with the game on the line and he rolled the dice. The gamble paid off as quarterback A.J. Banks rolled out and delivered a pass to junior Isaiah Navarro in the end zone to give the Falcons an amazing 65-64 overtime win over Vacaville on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.

 

“Absolutely I knew we were going for two,” Ybarra said. “Getting the ball second in overtime, we knew what we needed to do. I knew if we scored, we were going for two.” 

 

It was one of the wildest games of the night in the state as both teams moved the ball up and down the field. After Vacaville, which entered the season ranked No. 18 in the Sac-Joaquin Section by MaxPreps, scored a touchdown on its overtime possession to take a 64-57 lead, the Falcons faced a fourth down on the Bulldogs’ 10-yard line. Banks fired a pass into a crowd in the end zone and the ball was tipped in the air. Tight end Vinny Valladao was able to pull it down for the touchdown to set up the game-winning two-point conversion.

 

Banks and fellow senior receiver Sylas Austin had a night to remember. Banks completed 22 of 33 passes for 437 yards and seven touchdown passes. He also carried the ball 18 times for 120 yards and added a touchdown on the ground. Austin hauled in 10 catches for 284 yards and five touchdown catches.

 

“I think they were due,” Ybarra said. “We struggle during spring ball with them connecting. We struggled in the summer with them connecting a little bit. They’re timing was off just a bit. So it was nice to see them connect tonight because they’ve been working really hard this offseason.”

 

The Falcons will host Hughson next week at Dave Honey Stadium.

 

El Capitan 27, Hoover 13 – A.J. Jones returned a kickoff for a touchdown and also hauled in a touchdown catch as the Gauchos opened the season with a victory at Merced College’s Stadium ‘76. Gino Mendoza and Jesse Morgan each threw touchdown passes and senior Lorenzo Peters scored on a touchdown catch, a touchdown run and intercepted a pass on defense for El Capitan. 

 

“I’m happy we got it done,” said El Capitan head coach Xavier Ramirez. “Now we have to keep stacking the wins. It wasn’t our best performance. We got those first-game jitters out of the way.”

 

The Gauchos defense was led by Adrean Lucio and Tyler Johnson, who both recorded sacks and Deepal Singh, who recorded an interception. El Capitan travels to Ceres to face Central Valley next week.

 

Ripon 46, Golden Valley 20 – The Indians jumped out to a 35-13 lead in the first half behind an 80-yard punt return and a 10-yard touchdown run by Kael Rangel. The Cougars scored a couple touchdowns through the air as their offense enjoyed a bit of success, but couldn’t keep pace with Ripon. The Cougars will host Tokay next week at Veterans Stadium.

 

Gregori 22, Buhach Colony 0 – Blake O’Brien finished with over 100 yards rushing and hauled in a 55-yard reception but the Thunder were unable to punch the ball in the end zone against the Jaguars. “Our kids played hard, they played well, we just made too many mistakes,” said Buhach Colony head coach Kevin Navarra. 

 

Isaiah Reed ran the ball well for the Thunder, finishing close to 100 yards on the ground. Mason Caetano recorded two sacks on defense and Michael Hernandez added a sack and two tackles-for-loss. Buhach Colony will travel to Johansen next week.

 

Le Grand 35, Livingston 29 –  Quarterback Diego Martinez scrambled for a 25-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left in the game to deliver a victory for the Bulldogs. It was a tough loss for the Wolves in a game that went back-and-forth late.

 

Livingston took the lead as Christian Partida connected with Roberto Rivera for a 31-yard touchdown pass. Rivera then scored on a two-point conversion to give the Wolves a 29-28 lead with 4:39 left in the fourth quarter. 

 

After Martinez’s touchdown run gave the Bulldogs the lead, Le Grand’s Fernando Garcia intercepted a late Livingston pass to preserve the victory. Alexander Zuniga broke free for a 74-yard touchdown run for Livingston and Luis Martinez and Jeffrey Meneses scored on the ground for the Wolves. 

 

Livingston hosts Sonora next week.

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.