Late rally lifts Hartnell past Yuba
A resilient group of players will go into their bye week battered, bruised — and unbeaten.
The injuries are mounting for Hartnell College, which has a roster among the smallest in the state with 35 players.
Adversity aside, the Panthers are finding avenues to pull out games, rallying in the final minute Saturday for a 35-32 win over Yuba at Rabobank Stadium.
Hartnell, which will go into the bye week 2-0, saw its depleted roster shrink after losing a player to a broken ankle in the first half.
“We know who we are,” Hartnell coach Matt Collins said. “We had guys forced to play out of position that didn't even take reps at those spots in practice. We have to continue to find ways.”
Hartnell won't play again until it visits De Anza — which fell 21-5 to Cabrillo in its opener — on Sept. 23.
“This gives us a chance to study De Anza and try and get some guys healthy,” Collins said. “We're beat up.”
Yuba, which saw its losing streak extended to 22 games, suited up 75 players, only six of which were with the team last year in an 0-10 campaign.
“Our kids are a great group of competitors,” Collins said. “Going to the bye week, we talked about the need to leave it all out there today. We found a way to pull together when it mattered.”
When Yuba took a punt back 42 yards for a touchdown to take the 32-28 lead, the Panthers had 2 minutes and 41 seconds and no time outs to go 42 yards.
Quarterback Adam Shaffer showed some of that magic that saw him account for 43 touchdowns last year at Salinas High, hitting former prep teammate Isaiah Duarte on third down to keep the drive alive with under a minute remaining.
“That gave us a new set of downs and stopped the clock when Durate got out of bounds,” Collins said. “Adam was picking up chunks of yards and moving the chains. He put us in a good position and showed maturity.”
That set the stage for Jhymir Pearson, who took a handoff and scored from 5 yards out, enabling the Panthers to take a threepoint lead with 48 seconds remaining.
“We called two plays in case that one didn't work,” Collins said.
Pearson opened the game with a 79-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and added a 22-yard touchdown run, helping Hartnell jump out to a 21-7 lead before Yuba ran off 19 unanswered points to take a 26-21 lead in the third quarter.
“The momentum was going the other way,” Collins said. “It shows the character of this group to say that's enough. We were able to play defense in the end.”
That defense saw Kasey Mena, Benny Chuca, Donovan Ducharme and Jonathan Gray combine for 28 tackles, with two of Mena's tackles being for losses.
Collins has several players going both ways, including Salinas graduate Nathan Edeza, who started on the interior line on defense and played tackle on offense.
“The kid never comes off the field,” Collins said. “We could not do what we are doing without these guys up front.”
Spencer Gorguhlo connected with Cade Smith on a 22-yard scoring strike for Hartnell, while Shaffer added a 3-yard touchdown run in the first half. Pearson accounted for 196 multiple yards.