The Last Chance

With less than five minutes left in the game, the Lompoc Braves, holding on to a slim 10-9 lead over Righetti, had a second and ten at their own 23 yard line.

Running back Bobby Collins took a hand off and raced 77 yards for the apparent game clincher. But as Collins raced past the Righetti 20, a teammate was hit with a personal foul penalty at the 30.

Righetti held and got one last chance. Justin Level made sure the last chance was all he needed. The junior quarterback led the Warriors on a 10-play 80-yard drive and Righetti made good with just 41 seconds remaining, defeating Lompoc 17-10, in the PAC 6 opener for both teams.

Level hit 5-of-10 passes on the drive, none bigger than a 23 yarder to Adam Wilson on a 4th and 5 from the Righetti 25. On a 3rd and ten from the Warrior 48, he hit Matt Miller for a 25-yard gain to the Lompoc 27.

After a 17-yard pass to Tyler Boyd, Level threw a floater to the corner of the end zone that Miller caught for the score. Wilson ran into the end zone on the two-point conversion to give Righetti a seven point lead with just 41 seconds remaining.

“We did not put the hammer down when we needed to,” said Lompoc coach Robin Luken. “There are things you can't let happen and our coverage guys were not in the right positions.”

They offense pulled it together and we rallied,” said Righetti coach Gary Wilson. “We told the guys we still had a shot, the game was not over and you gotta play until the end of the game.”

The Braves (2-3, 0-1 PAC 6) had one last shot starting at their own 38, but could advance no farther than the 48 as time ran out.

Until the final drive, the Warriors (5-1, 1-0 PAC 6) gained most of their yardage on the ground, particularly on the running of Micheal Alexander. He ran the ball 28 times for 166 yards. Most of the yardage came in the first half, where Alexander had 133 yards on 20 runs.

Collins gained most of his yardage after the break. He ran 14 times for 113 yards, after gaining 44 on five carries in the first half.

The first quarter ended in a 0-0 tie as both defenses did an excellent job. The second quarter was more of the same until Righetti put together a nine play drive that started at their own 30.

Level completed two passes for 55 yards to Wilson and Alexander ran 19 yards on six carries, but the drive stalled at the Lompoc 17. Cody Miller hit a 34 yard field goal to put the Warriors on the board.

On the ensuing kickoff, Righetti wanted no part of Collins, who was deep. They tried a pooch kick that was bobbled by a Lompoc player and recovered by the Warriors at the Brave 43.

In the eight play drive that followed, Alexander ran the ball seven times for 38 yards and scored on a three-yard run. The extra-point was missed and Righetti led 9-0 at the half.

In the third, both teams went three plays and out, before the Braves put together a nice 10-play, 70-yard drive. Collins had gains of 19 and 16 on two of the first three plays and finally scored on a four yard run.

The Braves were helped out by a face mask penalty on a third and three that saw quarterback Daryl Aguilar keep the ball for no gain. On the next play, Aguilar apparently missed-played the hand off and was forced to keep the ball. He ran for 11 yards to get a first and ten at the 11.

Favi Fargas gained six hard earned yards and Collins ran for one, before he took the ball in from the four. Ralph Gonzales kicked the extra point, making the score closer, 9-7.

With 11:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, a Righetti drive stalled at the Lompoc 40. Miller shanked a punt that landed and rolled behind the line of scrimmage and Lompoc was in business at the Righetti 47.

On third and eight Aguilar was forced to scramble and ran down the sidelines for 34 yards, giving the Braves a 1st and ten at the Warrior 17.

Lompoc was forced to try a 28-yard field goal and Gonzales hit it through, giving the Braves a 10-9 lead.

The game seemed over when Collins ran for the 77-yards, but the penalty kept the Warrior hopes alive.

“We feel real good with Justin out there throwing the ball,” explained Wilson about the winning drive, “and we have some good receivers who will go get the ball and that showed tonight.”

About the penalty that cost Collins his big touchdown, Luken was frustrated.

“It was a dumb penalty, the referees called it a cheap shot, and it was,” he said. “It was behind the play, why do you need to hit anybody?”

“It's tough when you make mistakes,” he continued. “When you make dumb mistakes, it costs you.”

Wilson praised his defense.

“I'm very excited about the way the defense played,” he said. “They stepped up and made some big plays for us and kept us in the game.”

“We were missing quite a few kids, so the whole game we're shifting kids in and out trying to find kids to step up, and a lot of them did.”

October 6, 2007