SOME FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ACTION IN LODI
Both Galt teams came away with victories on Friday, though one of them came with a little bit of drama.
Liberty Ranch trailed 10-0 against Laguna Creek with 2:05 remaining at Hawk Stadium before they worked their 2-minute drill and surged to a 14-10 victory. Galt, meanwhile, cruised to a 27-10 road win against winless Mira Loma.
Liberty Ranch’s offense had trouble moving the ball for much of the game, and Laguna Creek had similar issues. The Cardinals led 3-0 at halftime, though both teams had touchdowns erased by holding penalties. Laguna Creek expanded the lead to 10-0 in the third quarter, and that’s where things stood as time ticked away in the fourth.
“We basically talk about scenarios. It’s 10-0, and we say if A happens, we’ll do B. If B happens, we do C,” Liberty Ranch coach Anthony Linebaugh said. “That way the kids kind of know what to expect, and they can kind of process a little bit. As a coaching staff, you’re reminding yourself about timeouts, and you have to put the ball here because there’s no timeouts, that kind of thing.”
Tony Rangel jump-started the Hawks with 2:05 remaining when he caught an Isiah Ricci pass over the middle on fourth
down and took it for a 25-yard touchdown. With Liberty Ranch holding onto a timeout, Laguna Creek couldn’t just kneel out the game and had to run plays. When the Hawks’ defense stopped the Cardinals, they went for a punt — but the snap went high, and Liberty Ranch had the ball deep in Cardinal territory with 26 seconds left.
Two plays later, Ricci found Cameron Hoskins on a fade in the back corner of the end zone.
“I do want to acknowledge our quarterback Isiah Ricci,” Linebaugh said. “He came in when Aidan Carr went down with an injury against Amador, and it’s basically his second game playing quarterback. He’s a team captain, and we really appreciate his drive and his leadership.”
The win gives Liberty Ranch a 2-3 record heading into Sierra Valley Conference play.
“They showed more resolve this week. We’re going the right direction,” Linebaugh said. “If we hadn’t gotten the victory, it was still a better week. The victory just helps us validate things.”
Galt High (4-1) went into Friday’s game at Mira Loma expecting to romp against winless Mira Loma, but the Warriors got more of a contest that they expected.
“Mira Loma’s kind of struggling with numbers, but they came out playing really well,” Galt coach Tim Cobleigh said. “They had some guys come out eligible with grades, and they played a good game. My guys had to work a little harder.”
Kenny Tran and David Vitoria each scored on the ground, and the Warriors steadily pulled away.
So it didn’t turn out to be the extended bye week Galt was hoping for, but the Warriors now have two weeks to prepare for the SVC opener against El Dorado.
“We could have played better. We took this opportunity against a team like Mira Loma to play a lot of guys who haven’t had a lot of playing time going into league,” Cobleigh said. “Once we got up 21-0 we decided to start playing everybody. All in all, the kids played a good game and we came out with the win.”