Titans shed darkhorse label with league victory

Shed that darkhorse moniker, Nipomo's Korben Boaz and Eryk Fernandez said Friday night.

The Titans are Los Padres League football front-runners as they bid for their first playoff bid.

“This was the biggest win in the history of the (fourth-year varsity) program,” said Boaz after Nipomo rallied to beat Pioneer Valley 14-12 at home.

“The wins are going to keep coming. We're getting the respect of these other teams, the newspapers, television. They know now that this team can play.”

Nipomo (3-2-0 overall) staked itself to 2-0 in the LPL after spotting the Panthers (1-2, 3-3-0) two first-half touchdowns and then grabbing the win.

The Titans are tied with St. Joseph and Morro Bay, which edged Templeton 27-23 Friday night, for first place. Nipomo hosts Templeton next Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a Homecoming game. The Panthers host Morro Bay at the same time.

The Titans won for the second straight week by cashing in on the other team's miscues.

They scored twice on Cabrillo fumbles deep in Conqs territory in a 24-14 win last week. This time the Panthers, with a 12-0 lead, were nailed for roughing punter Fernandez after Nipomo's fourth possession appeared to end with its third punt.

Instead, the roughing call gave the Titans the ball at Pioneer Valley's 47. The Titans moved smartly downfield on a series of short Mason Sperakos passes, and then the senior quarterback hit Kyle Webb with a five-yard touchdown pass 14.7 seconds before halftime.

“It's not making less mistakes,” Boaz insisted. “It's being more disciplined, making big plays.”

“The coaches stress discipline all the time,” said Fernandez.

Boaz and Fernandez were both big reasons the Titans pulled off their big win. Boaz, at nose tackle, stuffed Pioneer Valley's powerful between-the-tackles running game all night.

Pioneer Valley had 168 yards rushing, but the Panthers never could get their inside running game going consistently. Quarterback Peter Renteria was his team's leading rusher with 39 yards.

“They didn't run anything that we hadn't seen,” said Boaz.

“We had a special ‘two-gap' defense in which Korben played directly over the center and filled both gaps,” said first-year Nipomo head coach Russ Edwards.

“That allowed an extra linebacker in the 53 flex to drop back and make plays. It was huge. Still, they got some big plays on us.”.

Not quite enough as it turned out. For starters, the Panthers couldn't score after Fernandez, under a heavy rush, couldn't get a punt off and Colter Souza tackled him at the Titans 27 in the second quarter.

Andrew Gonzales needed two yards on fourth down from the nine. Boaz and Brent Farmer stopped him after one.

As an offensive lineman, Boaz helped Nipomo spring Billy Chambers for 72 second-half yards after Chambers had none in the first half.

Fernandez set up the Titans' winning score when he scooped up Panther Eric Silvas' fumble and ran it to the Pioneer Valley 19 in the third quarter.

The Titans suckered the Panthers' defense with good faking in the backfield on the ensuing play. Kevin Webb ran in on a reverse for the winning touchdown.

Fernandez kicked the extra points that made the difference in the final score. Pioneer Valley's point-after try failed following Gonzales' two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Renteria's two-point conversion pass for Diego De Miranda missed after Nick Rucobo's four-yard run made it 12-0 with 3:38 left in the second quarter.

The Titans intercepted two Renteria passes. Pick number one came when Fernandez grabbed Renteria's throw for Dan Ando in the end zone on a drawn out play.

“They tried a reverse on that before, and I stopped it,” said Fernandez. “That time, he slowed down and I knew he was going to throw. I saw it coming.”

Pick number two helped the Titans choke off the Panthers' last gasp. Cody Wiseman grabbed Renteria's pass at the Nipomo 20 and ran it to the Pioneer Valley 41.

The game was essentially over when Chambers ran 35 yards to the Panthers 5 two plays later.

Lineman Justin Buchan led the surge as Pioneer Valley's defense stopped one of the area's best rushers in 2006 cold in the first half. Chambers popped some nice gainers over the right side in the second.

“I'm playing all the offense I can handle right now,” said Boaz. “We just stayed on our blocks longer in the second half.”

Morro Bay 27, Templeton 23

The Pirates took a major step forward in the Los Padres League race with a victory over the Eagles in a matchup of previously-undefeated teams.

Logan Budd did the yeoman's work for Morro Bay (2-0, 5-0) with 179 rushing yards and three touchdowns, adding 63 passing yards and the other score. With three PATs kicked, Budd himself scored 21 of the Pirates' 27 points.

Templeton (1-1, 4-1) was led by Brenton Cordle's 76 rushing yards, also managing a fourth-quarter touchdown to get within four late. Ben Terry had 57 rushing yards, scoring on a 38-yard run and a 24-yard field goal.

Ryan Lugo hauled in a 53-yard touchdown pass from Budd in the first quarter.

AG 37, Templeton 20

Double-digit point totals in the second and fourth quarters helped the Eagles score a non-league Homecoming victory over the Royals at Hitchen Stadium.

Andrew Reza rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown, while George Lopez found the end zone three times en route to a 78-yard night for the Eagles (2-3).

Jordan Kuykendall had 113 yards in the los for the Royals (0-5), while Sean Kerr threw for 113 yards for San Marcos.

Nordhoff 17, SLO 17

The Tigers' Michael Connelly kicked a 37-yard field goal in the final minute to salvage a non-league draw against the Rangers at Frank Holt Field.

Bryan Lewelling gave the Tigers (3-2) an early 14-3 lead with two touchdown runs, from 14 and 1 yards; Nordhoff answered with 14 second-half points, taking a lead early in the fourth quarter off a Tiger turnover.

October 6, 2007