VALLEJO QUIETED IN 2021 SEASON DEBUT
Reason runs for two touchdowns for Redhawks during opener in Fairfield
>> Maybe it was the game being played during the daytime rather than at night. Then again, it could have been that the contest was played in early April instead of sometime in the fall. Whatever the reason, the timing seemed off for Vallejo High’s football team on Friday.
In their new surroundings the Redhawks looked looked more lost than Oceanic Flight 815 as they fell to host Rodriguez, 6420, in a rare day game. The contest was the first for any Vallejo High athletic squad in over a year due to the pandemic.
The Redhawks got off to a much later start than others in Solano County when football conditioning was delayed until March 22 by the Vallejo City Unified School District. Almost every other football program in the state began at least a month earlier.
Especially early in the game, the rust showed for the Redhawks.
“We made a lot of mental mistakes. But we’re going to be a better ball club than that,” Vallejo High head coach Mike Wilson III said. “We found out some things and found some people we can replace. We need to find the right combination. Next week will be a very important week of practice. It will give us enough time to fix some things, but we need to grow up a little more.”
Things did not start well for the Redhawks (0-1) as Rodriguez (2-1) sophomore Leroy Bryant returned the opening kick 85 yards to the end zone for an early 6-0 lead.
Six minutes later the Mustangs scored again, this time on a 7-yard run by Malachi Jones to make it 14-0 after the conversion reception by Anthony Homa.
“We made a lot of mental mistakes. But we’re going to be a better ball club than that.”
— Vallejo High coach Mike Wilson III
Two minutes later Rodriguez scored again, this time by air as Homa caught a nice pass thrown by Miles Meadows from 25 yards out. Homa and Meadows connected five times with Homa catching five passes for 141 yards and two scores. Meadows completed 8 of 14 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns.
Meadows wasn’t the only one picking apart Vallejo’s defense in the passing game. Up 28-6 late in the first quarter, the Mustangs converted on a fleaflicker touchdown pass from Jamoryon Johnson to Homa to go up 36-6. Rodriguez went for two following every touchdown and tried an onside kick following every score except one.
The only score for Vallejo in the first quarter came on 69-yard touchdown run by senior Kyree Reason.
Reason later scored on a 70-yard scamper and finished with 149 yards on six carries. Reason showed a lot of heart — especially in the second half with his team down big.
“We just couldn’t give up. We had to keep play hard and play as a team,” Reason said.
Describing his two long touchdown runs, Reason gave credit to his line before saying the blocking still needed to improve before its next game against Bethel on April 17.
“On my long runs, the line opened up a hole and when the hole opened up I just got out of there,” Reason said.
Also playing hard was Vallejo senior quarterback Trevon Vaughn, who had 45-yard touchdown run in the second quarter as his team trailed 50-14 at the half. Vaughn seemed to feel pressure in the backfield on every single play, but still competed. Wilson was happy to see his team not give up despite the huge deficit.
“The attitude was a lot better in the second half. We changed some things and they were listening. That’s the key — they listened,” Wilson said.
A running clock began for the game midway through the second quarter when Rodriguez went up 50-6.
The second half didn’t get any better for Vallejo, however, as Gerald Certeza scooped up a fumble at the line of scrimmage and took it 85 yards to the end zone and a touchdown that made it 56-14. Rodriguez scored one final time in the third quarter when Homa found Bryant alone in the touchdown.
Despite the loss, Wilson was happy to have some kind of football season and is optimistic that the team can bounce back in two weeks for the Mayor’s Cup game against Vallejo.
“It felt wonderful. The atmosphere was nice,” Wilson said. “The kids were excited to finally play and they had fun. We’re thankful to be here.”
Vallejo is expected to return to a traditional 10game schedule in the fall.