Games end in defeat, victory

In an exciting pair of games at Brownlee Field on Friday, September 9, Armijo split its games against Sierra (of Manteca) with Junior Varsity (JV) losing 38-0, and Varsity winning 34-19. Both teams’ records now stand at 2-2.

Despite the final scoreline, the JV Royals trailed only by 8-0 with under one minute remaining in the 1st half, including two forced turnovers by the Armijo defense: a fumble recovered by freshman Kimani Dokes where he ripped the ball out of the opposing receiver’s hands, and an interception by freshman Amir Boyd Vaughn.

Unfortunately, Sierra threw a screen pass into the backfield with their final play from scrimmage in the 1st half and it resulted in an 85-yard touchdown. Trailing 16-0 entering halftime, the Armijo offense never quite picked up steam. Dokes led the team in rush yards from the quarterback position, running 17 times for 79 yards; freshman Isaac Rodriguez was the leading receiver with two catches for 25 yards.

Defensively, 11 different players recorded a tackle. Freshmen Camarri Hayes and David Powell recorded three tackles each; Powell also had a sack. Sophomore Juan Uscanga got two tackles; and freshman Toa Atuatasi had a tackle and fumble recovery.

In the headlining varsity game, Armijo’s offense produced fireworks, highlighted by 457 yards of offense and five touchdowns. A few times, the Royals had lapses in concentration when they lost four fumbles on offense, keeping the visiting Timberwolves in the game when the Royals were the dominant side for much of the night.

The most exciting sequences of the game arrived in the 4th quarter. Armijo held a 9-point lead at 28-19 and was trying to put the game to bed by scoring before the drive stalled out at the opposing 25-yard line following a penalty and a sack. The Timberwolves looked poised to score on their ensuing drive before four consecutive plays from the Royals defense cemented the result: a sack by junior superstar Jericho Johnson; another sack by junior Jordan Brown; a second sack by Johnson; then a third in four plays.

Armijo thought they had the game won and tried to run the clock out. On a 4th-down punt attempt, a bad snap meant that the Timberwolves had only six yards to go before making an easy finish into a stressful one. However, sophomore Jayden Butcher caught his second interception of the game (and third this season) to give the ball back to the Armijo offense. Two plays later, sophomore running back Markel Hazzard ran 96 yards for a touchdown that produced the final scoreline and capped his impressive 173-yard, 2-score performance.

Sophomore Quarterback Willie Nickson produced 297 yards of total offense and two touchdowns: one throwing and one rushing. Freshman Elijah Thompson had a breakout performance at receiver, getting 173 yards and one TD on four catches.

Defensively, 14 different Royals recorded a tackle. Here are some of the best stat lines: