A rivalry — and normalcy — renewed
The Lodi High football team slogged its way to a 55-27 victory over cross-town rival Tokay on Friday, with turnovers, penalties and injuries making the game last late into the evening.
And despite the lopsided score, the game was far from decided until late, with Lodi clinging to a 28-21 lead as the third quarter ticked down.
That’s when tight end Isaac Bishop took the ball on the 15yard line and rumbled to the end zone, twisting and dragging defenders with him until he dove backward across the goal line for the score.
From there, the Flames poured it on, with a 2-yard Kaiden Merryman touchdown run to start the fourth quarter, a 60-yard Vinny Montgomery interception return for a score, and a 32-yard Bishop touchdown run off of a Stephanos Pappas interception — his second pick after reeling one in during the first quarter.
Tokay’s Jacob Varney got off one last touchdown pass to push Tokay to 27 points, but Lodi’s damage was already done.
For a brief time, Tokay led early in the game. After Lodi got on the board first with a 13yard Adolfo Sanchez run (with the extra-point blocked), Tokay responded with a Varney pass to running back Joseph Filippini, who bobbled it and then pulled it in on the fly for a 64yard touchdown pass.
After a Lodi fumble (one of the Flames’ three in the first half), Filippini found the end zone again, this time on a 3yard run after a short Tokay drive.
The Tigers held a 14-6 lead, but then the Flames found their stride — and slowed down on the turnovers.
Merryman broke loose for a 55-yard run, and after a failed 2point conversion, Lodi trailed 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Lodi owned the second quarter with a pair of touchdowns — a 27-yard run by quarterback
Adam Schallberger, who hurdled one of his own linemen on the way, and a 12-yard run by Christian Zamora to cap a long drive.
Tokay refused to go away in the third quarter, with Filippini again proving to be a dangerous weapon with a 40yard touchdown run to make it a one-score game.
“The kidd played really hard tonight. It was a big win, but I mean, I knew it would be a tough game in the beginning,” Lodi coach George Duenas said. “That Filippini kid is a good player. I hated coaching against him the last few years, and I got nothing but respect for him and wish him luck at the next level.”
But not long after his run, Bishop completed his rumble through the Tokay defense, and the rout was on.
Throughout the game, the Lodi defense created havoc along the line, breaking up plays in the backfield. Leading the charge was junior Reggie Miles, who inspired teammate Daniel Romo to remark on the sideline “Reggie Miles is a demon. Quote me.”
The game was delayed in the second quarter by an injury to Lodi’s Gabe Biagoni, who went down with a neck injury. He left in an ambulance out of precaution, but was able to walk himself to the stretcher.
It was a bittersweet victory for Duenas, who found out after the game that his grandmother had passed away. He said she basically raised him.