High school football roundup: Blocked kick ends Maria Carrillo's comeback attempt

Host Maria Carrillo suffered a crushing defeat on Friday night in a non-league game against Benicia after the Pumas had an extra point blocked with 26 seconds to play to lose 26-25.

Trailing 26-19, the Pumas (1-2) scored on a 5-yard pass from KC Kelly to Mason Adams. Pumas coach Jay Higgins elected to go for 2 points and the win. However, a false-start penalty on a Maria Carrillo offensive lineman cost them 5 yards and Higgins decided to go for the extra point and potential overtime. The kick was blocked by a Panthers defender who slashed in from the edge.

“I had confidence in our team to get the three yards for the win. Eight yards is a different proposition for 2 oints than three yards,” Higgins said. “It was not a low kick, it was a protection issue.”

Maria Carrillo led 13-7 at halftime but trailed 20-19 at the end of the third quarter.

“We left too many points on the field and we didn't play solid for four quarters. Offensively we did a lot of good things but we had red-zone opportunities that we stalled out on,” Higgins said. “The defense played pretty well but we had a lapse in the third quarter so that wasn't good. We had some assignment errors.”

The Pumas have a bye next week to work on regaining their form from last week when they beat Analy 48-3.

“Benicia (2-1) is a good football team, they competed well,” Higgins said. “In a couple of key moments when the game hinged, Benicia made the plays and we made mistakes.”

Kelly was 11-of-21 passing for 171 yards and one touchdown.

CARDINAL NEWMAN 63, ANALY 26

The visiting Cardinals (2-1) downed the Tigers (1-2) behind the strength of a 34-point first-quarter outburst. Cardinal Newman led 34-13 at halftime and rolled through the second half to victory.

Analy continues to get shredded on defense as it lost last week to Maria Carrillo 48-3. The back-to-back drubbings suffered by the Tigers at the hands of two NBL teams indicates that the Tigers have a lot of catching up to do to reach the form and results they have been accustomed to for the past few years.

“I didn't think this year would be like this after three games. I knew it would be tough but there is plenty of time to turn it around and play some football,” Analy coach James Foster said.

“We really didn't play well today,” Foster added. “We had a lot of the same things go wrong as last week.”

Cardinal Newman poured it on in the second half, outscoring Analy 29-13 to top 60 points.

“Defensively, tackling was a problem and we had a lot of blown coverages,” Foster said.

“We still are underachieving on offense,” he added. “We had a lot of dropped balls by our receivers.”

Both teams have a bye next week.

“We need the bye week so we have a chance to regroup,” Foster said.

DEL ORO 46, WINDSOR 13

The host Jaguars (0-2) struggled on both sides of the ball against the Golden Eagles (2-1) of Loomis.

State powerhouse Del Oro scored 17 points in the first quarter and 22 in the second quarter for a 39-0 halftime lead. Windsor was able to scrap together 13 points in the second half.

“Del Oro is amazing. They were big, fast and strong. They came after us right off the bat,” Windsor coach Kevin Bellatore said. “Del Oro is a powerhouse and they played like it. They were better than us but our kids didn't back down.”

Windsor quarterback Nick Pardini rushed for more than 50 yards and threw for more than 250 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

HEALDSBURG 28, SAN RAFAEL 6

In a tight game, the host Greyhounds (2-1) pulled out a victory over the Bulldogs (0-2) with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

“We have to build off this win. We are a young team,” Healdsburg coach Dave Stine said. “Our defense played tough and put pressure on San Rafael's quarterback,” Stine added. “We dropped him for several losses and that put us in good field position in the fourth quarter. Our defense won the game for us and was pretty stout.”

Damien Chesmore had a 65-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter and ran for more than 100 yards. Teammate Alex Johnson also ran for more than 100 yards.

Healdsburg quarterback Jack Edmonds threw a 55-yard bomb for an insurance touchdown late in the fourth quarter to Alex DiJorio.