AmCan defense strong in home win
Wolves enjoy home opener, hold Grizzlies to just 143 yards of offense; Bethel transfer Turner starts at QB for visiting team
It was a surreal feeling at Wolf Den Stadium on Friday night, as the COVID-19 pandemic made it possible for only a few fans to watch American Canyon’s home football opener.
It was so quiet compared to a normal Wolves home game that you could even hear the light towers humming above the stands.
However, the energy from the American Canyon football team seemed to come from its defense and that was louder than an AC/ DC concert.
The Wolves (2-0) only allowed 143 yards of offense and a field goal as they edged Napa High 13-3 in the Vine Valley Athletic League contest.
“The kids are gritty,” American Canyon head coach John Montante said. “They come in tough
and they fought and rallied. Our tackling got better and I’m really proud of them.”
One of the better defenders on the night was Kopono Liu, who had two sacks of Napa quarterback Mal Turner in the first half. David Garcia, Orin Stockford-Reid and Ezkiel Anderson also had big sacks of Turner in the second half.
Turner, a longtime Jesse Bethel High quarterback, transferred to Napa earlier this month due to Vallejo City Unified School District inaction (at the time) with football. He completed 9 of 28 passes for 91 yards. Turner also ran 14 times for 25 yards, which would have been higher if not for the multiple sacks on him.
A few days after a TimesHerald story ran on Turner, VCUSD announced that it was starting conditioning for football.
After the contest, the new Grizzlies quarterback needed a few moments to compose himself when asked what it was like to play for another team and to do it in March.
“It was different because you don’t have your guys out there,” Turner said between tears. “It’s a different experience but I have to go out there and do it. We need to improve on everything.
That includes me. I’m part of the problem too, I’ve only been here a week and a half. I tried to make the best out of it but I have to blame myself since the quarterback is supposed to be a leader.”
In a game that featured punt after punt in the first half, Napa (0-1) scored first when Oscar Sotelo nailed a 32-yard field goal to make it 3-0 in the first quarter. The Grizzlies twice tried to add to that lead with 30yard field goal attempts by Sotelo, but both kicks sailed left and missed.
Finally American Canyon got on the scoreboard with 22 seconds remaining in the first half when quarterback Vinnie Espejo completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Fisher in the left corner of the end zone. It was just Fisher’s second and final catch of the night, but it was a big one.
“I was making sure I caught before I made sure I was in bounds,” Fisher said. “Vinnie threw a great ball and my main priority was to make sure I got to my spot. When I was falling down with the ball my head was in a spot where I could see that I was going to be in bounds.”
The main offensive weapon for the Wolves, however, was running back Ezekiel Anderson, who carried the ball 27 times for 63 yards. With American Canyon going to the run so much, it later opened up the pass, especially early in the fourth quarter when Espejo found Trenton Angold open for a 21yard touchdown to make it 13-3. The extra point was blocked.
Espejo finished with 10 completions in 16 pass attempts for 115 yards. He also ran the ball nine times for 14 yards.
After the game, Montante said there were things the Wolves needed to improve on such as fine tuning their assignments, but in the end the head coach was happy to be playing again at Wolf Den Stadium, even if it was quieter than a museum.
“I mean, we’ll play in a parking lot if we have to,” the Wolves head coach said. “This game means so much to the players and the coaching staff. Some teams, they don’t get to play right now. We’re one of the lucky ones. So whether it’s here, Memorial Stadium or a parking lot, we’ll play.”
Despite the loss, Turner tried to remain optimistic as he strives to improve with his new school and team.
“There is always joy in playing football,” Turner said. “At the end of the day we lost but we’re getting an opportunity to play. This could always be the last chance we have to play. You never know if they’re going to shut it down or not so that’s why every snap I try to give it my all. But it wasn’t my “all” today and it wasn’t good enough but I’m happy to play football again.”