Mason Helwick scored four rushing touchdowns as the Pitman High football team held off Golden Valley 28-19 on Friday night at Veterans Stadium. The loss dropped the Cougars record to 0–4 on the season. “Too many mistakes and we can’t stick enough things together,” said Golden Valley coach Rick Martinez. “We probably played two good quarters tonight. I think we had 16 penalties in the first half. That’s too much for us to overcome.”

 

Penalties at the wrong time, not being able to make key stops or big plays when needed have all been part of the recipe that has been the Cougars’ 0-4 start to the season. Twice Golden Valley jumped offsides on fourth down to extend the Pride’s opening possession that allowed Pitman to take a 7-0 lead on a 10-yard run by Helwick. 

 

The Pride senior running back had a monster night, rushing for 105 yards on 22 carries with scoring runs of 10, 1, 3 and 2 yards. Helwick also added five catches for 51 yards.

 

The Cougars set up Pitman’s second touchdown when a bad snap on a punt play set up the Pride offense at GV’s 10-yard line. Three plays later Helswick punched it in for a score to extend the lead to 14-0 late in the first quarter.

 

The Cougars battled back as quarterback Gabe Richards connected with receiver Jaden Smith on a 20-yard touchdown catch to cut the lead to 14-7 with 6:13 left in the first half. Richards added another touchdown on a 1-yard plunge late in the second quarter to pull the Cougars within 14-13.

 

“Our effort is there, we just have to execute better,” said GV running back Isaiah Welch, who rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown. “We don’t need as many penalties as we had. I take responsibility for that because I’m a team leader.”

 

Welch ran hard all night, helping keep the Cougars in the game. He scored on a 1-run to pull Golden Valley within 19-17 with 8:56 left in the game. It looked like the Cougars defense had Pitman in a tough spot, facing fourth-and-13, but quarterback RJ Wilharm swung the ball out to Helwick and he ran down the Pitman sideline for a 26-yard gain to convert the first down. The Pride delivered on a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line on Helswick run to extend the lead to 28-19.

 

The Cougars turned the ball over on their ensuing drive to seal their fate. Martinez stressed the importance of having all the players show up for every practice when he addressed the team after the game. Welch agreed. “It’s a team effort, we have to go to practice every day,” Welch said. “No missing practice days, we have to be there every single day, putting in work, grinding. Nobody is trying to be 0-4, we want to win so we have to put in the work.”

 

Golden Valley will travel to Kimball next week in Tracy.

 

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