MPC wins a thriller
Hartnell loses shootout
Kefu Leander blocked an extra-point attempt in overtime, as Monterey Peninsula College snapped a three-game losing streak, edging De Anza of Cupertino 27-26.
MPC, which watched a 17-point lead disappear in the fourth quarter to land in overtime, used a Josh Elmore to Dominic Esters touchdown pass on its first possession in overtime to take a 2720 lead.
The Dons answered with a touchdown, setting the stage for Leander — The Herald's 2019 Defensive Player of the Year at Seaside — who got a hand up to block the extra point.
“Penalties haunted us in the second half. We had some self-inflicted wounds,” MPC coach Ronnie Palmer said. “But we found a way to be on the plus side.”
A pair of touchdown runs from Devin Bradd — who rushed for 123 yards — helped the Lobos build a 20-3 lead in the third quarter, while the defense held De Anza to a field goal through the first three quarters.
MPC put the ball in the air just 11 times for 73 yards while chalking up over 200 yards on the ground, as Ryan Howard added 68 rushing yards.
The Lobos three losses this year are to teams a combined 11-0.
The Palma connection of Guy Bessey and Christian Avila combined on a sack, as the pair have 10.5 between them in six games. Deyondre Gomez had a gamehigh 15 tackles for MPC, while Michael Galindo collected seven tackles, a pick and a forced fumble.
“I think we're getting better each week,” Palmer said. “Kids are fighting and competing hard. In looking back at tape, we can correct all of the inflicted mistakes. As long as we continue to grow, that's the objective.”
Feather River 48, Hartnell 39
Battle-tested might not be a strong enough description for the Panthers going into their conference opener.
Five teams remain undefeated in Northern California. Hartnell has faced and fallen to three of them, including Feather River of Quincy on Saturday.
“I thought we played a hell of a game effort-wise,” Hartnell coach Matt Collins said. “We responded to a lot of adversity. But we keep finding ways to beat ourselves. We need to make better decisions. We don't always make good choices at critical times.”
The injuries continue to mount as well as Hartnell lost its starting center to a knee injury, while its starting safety suffered a neck injury and was taken to the hospital.
The Panthers (2-3) will open conference play Saturday, hosting Gavilan.
“It comes down to what we have left,” Collins said. “We lost two more guys on an already thin roster. We have to make some moves and start over with guys in new positions. The staff has done a good job in moving guys around.”
Whether it’s frustration or building blocks, Hartnell has failed to hold leads in losses to Feather River and Contra Costa, two teams that came into the weekend a combined 7-0.
The Panthers, who led 7-0 and 14-13 in the first half, battled back to tie the game in the third quarter at 21, as JP Garcia tossed five more touchdown passes, connecting twice with Soledad grad Angel Olivas on scoring strikes of 52 and 75 yards.
Sandwiched in between that were two touchdown passes to Josiah Freeman and one to Ryan Luke for his team-leading fourth touchdown of the season.
“We played our hearts out,” Collins said. “We moved the ball. We had over 400 yards passing. We did some good things on defense as well. We showed some fight. We gave ourselves a chance at the end.”
Garcia finished with 425 passing yards, while Freeman caught nine passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Olivas and Payton Flores also had over 100 yards in receiving.
“As frustrating as it was to lose this game, I’m excited about getting into conference play,” Collins said. “Everything we want to do is still there for us. There’s been a lot of character building.”