IN SPORTS: TOKAY FALLS, LODI WINS IN FOOTBALL
A trick play set up the Tokay High football team’s first touchdown in the second half of Friday’s non-league game against Bear Creek.
But Bruins running back Terry Holmes and his Bear Creek teammates had already done their damage in the first half. Holmes scored early and often that led to Bear Creek posting a 58-16 win over Tokay at the Grape Bowl. Tokay has been outscored 109-28 in its first two games of the season; Patterson posted a 51-12 win over Tokay in the battle of the Tigers at the Grape Bowl on Aug. 17.
Bear Creek led 51-0 at halftime, which led to a running clock for the entire second half. Receiving the second-half kickoff, Tokay (0-2) started at its own 20-yard line. Then six plays later at their own 33, the Tigers, who crossed into the Bruins’ territory only once in the first half, moved the chains when quarterback Chase Howell handed the ball to wide receiver Mar-
cell Norwood on a reverse play.
As he was running toward the Tigers’ sidelines, Norwood stopped halfway, and threw the ball crossfield to Howell, who ran to the Bruins’ 39-yard line for a first down. On the next play, sophomore wide receiver Joseph Filippini ran the ball on a sweep, dragging a Bear Creek defender into the end zone for a 39-yard run for a touchdown. Fullback Nathan Branco made it 51-8 on a 2-point conversion run.
“It was something we had planned from the get-go,” said Tokay coach Michael Holst. “It wasn’t something like ‘when are we going to use it?’”
The Bruins increased their lead to 58-8 at the beginning of the fourth quarter when quarterback Quincy Glasper completed a 35-yard pass to Chaz Davis. Chester Amkhamavong booted the extra-point.
The Tigers’ final score came at the end of the game. Norwood, now playing quarterback in place of Howell, who suffered an ankle injury on a previous play, threw his second pass of the game. This one to Skyler Lewis of 31 yards. Howell came back into the game, and ran in the 2-point conversion to make the score final.
“In the second half, we played a lot better,” Holst said.
Tokay got the ball back on the onside kick. But the clock ticked down to the final seconds for the final.
Leading 13-0 after the first quarter, Holmes was the workhorse for Bear Creek (1-1) that led to building its comfortable halftime lead. Holmes, a senior, scored on runs of 10, nine, one and 45 yards. The Bruins’ final touchdown in the quarter was by defensive back, recovered a Tiger fumble and ran it back 35 yards.
“That’s the best Bear Creek team I’ve seen on film,” Holst said. “They’ve got some dudes.”
Tokay had an opportunity to stay with Bear Creek in the first quarter. After the Bruins jumped out to a 7-0 lead after Glasper completed a 32-yard scoring pass to Elijah Bell, the Tigers marched down the field thanks Filippinin returning the kickoff return 25 yards, plus Howell completing passes of 13 and nine yards to Filippini and Norwood respectively.
That set up Lewis preparing to boot a 25-yard field goal. But the Bruins blocked the kick and gained possession. That turnover led to their next score; Glasper tossed a 61-yard pass to Davis for his first touchdown of the game to make it 130.
“Early in the quarter, we can’t punch the ball in,” Holst said. “These are things you can’t do against good teams.”
Three non-league game left, Holst is confident his team can show signs of improvement.
“We’ve got to want to get better at doing the little things,” Holst said. “We’re young and inexperience. We’ve got to get better as a team. It’s got to be my job to fix.”
In the junior varsity game, Tokay (1-1) knocked off Bear Creek 14-13.