Would anyone in the Santa Maria Valley really want a tie between Pioneer Valley and Righetti High Schools? The huge overflow crowd and apparantly the powers that be didn't either.

Righetti's Cody Miller kicked a 39 yard field goal in the first overtime and the Warriors stopped the Panthers on a fourth-and-two pass play, leading to a 17-14 Righetti victory at Warrior Stadium Friday night.

“The fans came out,” said Righetti coach Gary Wilson, “and they got a show.”

Pioneer Valley (0-1) scored two touchdowns on big plays in the first half and took a 14-0 lead into the break. Quarterback Peter Renteria hit Nick Rucobo on an 83-yard touchdown pass with 2:16 left in the first quarter, then connected on a 51 TD toss and run to Steven Rucobo on the first play of the second.

Subtract the 134 yards on the two scoring plays, the Panthers had 45 yards in offense during the rest of the half. Meanwhile Righetti (1-0) was able to gain a total of 16 yards in the half.

“They (Righetti) did a great job stuffing the running game,” said Panther coach Greg Dickenson, “but they gave us the passing stuff, which we took advantage of in the first half.”

“When they put that many guys in the box and blitz,” he continued, “you got to pass.”

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Both defenses played brilliantly in the first half. Neither team was able to run the ball. With 15 carries in the first half, the Warriors gained 13 yards. Michael Alexander had 10 yards on seven carries. Pioneer Valley had less success, running for six yards on 13 tries.

In the second half, both teams still found difficulty running the ball, but the passing game picked up on both sides.

Justin Level started for the Warriors at quarterback, but was replaced by Matt Meza in the second quarter after going 1-for-5 with one yard. Meza was 4-for-6 for two yards. But in the second half, the starter picked up his level of play.

Completing 10-of-17 after the intermission, Level took the Warriors on two fourth quarter drives and threw for 151 yards with two touchdowns in the half.

“We went into halftime and talked about how hard we worked in the summer for this,” explained Level. “We came out as family like we always are.”

With 9:34 remaining in the game, he completed a seven play, 65-yard drive hitting Timmy Dwyer for a 15-yard TD. He then led Righetti on a 9-play, 52-yard drive that took 2:47. The score came on a 14-yard touchdown pass and run to Sam Halop with 5:47 left.

The Panthers gave themselves a chance to win with one final drive. Starting at their own 28 yard line, Pioneer Valley drove down to the Warrior 21 on 11 plays. The first big play was a pass completion from Renteria to Diego DeMiranda that gained 27 yards The second was a Dickenson trick-play. On a third and 22, Renteria handed the ball to Steven Rucobo, who then handed the ball to DeMiranda. DeMiranda watched Rucobo get tackled without the ball, then took off down the sidelines for a 25-yard gain to the 22.

With 37 seconds remaining, the Panthers' Andres Montiel attempted a 39-yard field goal for the win. The ball floated high into the air, then hit the crossbar, giving Righetti new life.

In the overtime, the Warriors were unable to move the ball, but Cody Miller's 39-yarder was long and true.

Pioneer Valley lost ten yards on their first play but DeMiranda came up big catching a pass from Renteria for 18. Andrew Gonzales ran for no gain on third down, bringing up a fourth-and-two. Montiel came on the field for a tying field goal, but Pioneer Valley called a time out.

After the time out, the Panthers lined up to go for it. Renteria took the snap under center and pitched the ball back to Nick Rucobo. Rucobo threw towards the end zone where DeMiranda got behind defender Adam Wilson, but the ball was thrown a yard short for an incompletion and a Righetti victory.

“It was a good game on both sides of the ball,” said Dickenson, “then their kicker hits the field goal and we kick the upright. In the second half, they got some momentum. That's high school football.”

“Our guys just stayed the course and fought hard,” explained Wilson, “I was real excited for these guys to not quit and not bow down.”

The Righetti defense, which was solid outside of the two big touchdown plays, had a serious talk at halftime.

“They talked at halftime and said they had to cut out the big plays,” said Level, “and they did. They held them scoreless in the second half.”

It was just the first game of the season, but it proved that the Righetti-Pioneer Valley rivalry is going to continue to grow.

After one game, Level said, “I never felt better in my whole life.”

Righetti will travel to South Bakersfield next Friday, while Pioneer Valley hosts Arroyo Grande.

Sports writer Brad Memberto can be reached at 737-1055 or by e-mail to bmemberto@lompocrecord.com.

September 1, 2007