Penalties and turnovers thwarted the second-half comeback attempt by the Golden Valley High football team as Linden defeated the Cougars 28-14 at Veterans Stadium on Friday night. In the final 5 minutes of the game the Cougars had a touchdown called back for a holding penalty, allowed a blocked field goal attempt and turned the ball over twice on interceptions.

 

“It's just again the little things that are hurting us,” said Golden Valley head coach Rick Martinez, whose team dropped to 1-2 on the season. “The last two weeks have been winnable games, but we’re beating ourselves.”

 

Linden (2-1) controlled the first half behind the strong running of Issac Ruvalcaba. The 5-8, 190-pound bowling ball of a running back powered his way 85 of his 120 rushing yards in the first half. Ruvalcaba’s 22-yard touchdown run gave the Lions a 14-0 lead with 9:34 left in the second quarter.

 

The Cougars struggled to get into any rhythm offensively in the first half. Golden Valley finally at the end of the second quarter, but ran out of time with the ball at the Lions’ 6-yard line.

 

The Cougars offense woke up in the second half with the help of a break on special teams. Golden Valley tried to punt the ball away, but the Lions blocked the punt. The ball was picked up by a Golden Valley player and advanced for a first down. Four plays later, quarterback Gabe Richards found Jaren Bell wide open in the end zone for an 11-yard scoring strike to pull GV within 14-7 with 9:11 left in the third quarter.

 

The Cougars pulled even early in the fourth quarter when Richards found tight end Camden Patterson for a 17-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-14 with 11:06 left.

 

The Cougars offense came alive in the second half with running back Isaiah Welch racking up 104 of his 139 rushing yards in the final two quarters. Welch had an 85-yard touchdown run wiped away in the first quarter on a holding call.  “I’m kind of old school in that I said we only played one good quarter and that was the third quarter,” Martinez said. 

 

Linden wasted no time regaining the lead after Golden Valley pulled even at 14-14. Lions quarterback Devin Hunger threw a swing pass to receiver Gage Wicke, who raced down the left sideline for a 68-yard touchdown. The Lions went for two, but were stopped and settled for a 20-14 lead with 9:58 left in the game.

 

The Cougars had a chance to take the lead as they drove inside the 20-yard line on a 10-play drive. However, they were twice called for holding inside the Lions’ 20-yard line. They eventually settled for a 27-yard field goal attempt, but Linden’s Lincoln Ly shot through the middle of the GV line and blocked the kick and returned it to the 50.

 

Golden Valley’s defense forced a punt for another potential game-winning drive, but Linden’s Amiel Moore intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 28-14 with 1:44 left.

 

“I feel what kept us from closing this one out was too many of our guys were in their heads,” Bell said. “Just because you miss one play doesn’t mean you can’t make it up on the next one. You can fall a thousand times, it’s not about the falls, it’s about getting up each time.”

Downey 60, Merced 44 – Anthony Ward returned an interception 50 yards for a score and receiver Israel Rodas caught two touchdowns, but the Bears (2-1) couldn’t keep pace with the Knights (1-2).

 

Gregori 34, Atwater 26 – The Falcons jumped out to a 20-0 lead but turnover helped the Jaguars earn the comeback win. Jadyen Ybarra, Dallas Hude and Charlie Whitby all rushed for Atwater touchdowns and Juan Leyva scored on a fumble return.

 

Enochs 22, Buhach Colony 15 – The Thunder hit some big plays early as receiver Aedyn Bighom hauled in 60-yard touchdown pass from Julian Llamas and Dylan Newkirk scored on a 20-touchdown run to give BC a 15-0 lead in the first half. However, Enochs scored the final 22 points to earn the victory.

 

Orestimba 42, Livingston 28 – Wolves quarterback Roman Gonzalez accounted for three touchdowns, including a 65-yard touchdown run. Gonzalez also threw touchdowns to Victor Quilo and Santiago Prado. Livingston will have a bye next week before traveling to Pacheco for the Western Athletic Conference opener on Sept. 25.

 

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