Armijo Royals lose to strong team

Varsity game: Natomas 41, Armijo 6

Coming into the game, the Armijo football team came off its bye week on Friday, September 23, well rested and rejuvenated following a revised forfeit victory in Week 1 vs. El Camino. Our record sat at 3-1 and we had aspirations of ending a 90-year playoff drought for the program. Unfortunately, we took a tough road loss at Natomas, 41-6.

The game was decided early: the Royals’ first five offensive drives yielded five punts, no first downs and only four yards. Our defense had given up three touchdowns and our special teams gave up a punt return for a touchdown as well, putting us down 28-0 before we had really gotten into the game.

A bright spot was a new, freshman receiver leading the team in yards; last game, it was Elijah Thompson with over 100 yards and this week it was Kimani Dokes with a consolation, 24-yard touchdown in the final minute of the game. Quarterback Willie Nickson passed for 72 yards and led the team in rushing with 27 yards.

Defensively, a few players had standout performances among the 12 that registered a tackle. Jason Hubbard had six tackles and one tackle for loss; Dae Sparks tallied three tackles, one for loss, and recovered a fumble; Jaden Butcher notched 3 tackles; and Tamarcus Williams also scooped up an important fumble recovery.

JV game: Natomas 6, Armijo 0

In another close contest, the Royals left it all out on the field, but came up short by allowing a 26-yard TD pass with only 13 seconds remaining in the game.

In the 4th quarter alone, the Royals defense stood strong, holding the Nighthawks three times in the red zone, but on the 4th asking, Natomas was able to punch in the only score of the game.

One leader in the defensive effort was Juan Uscanga who put up an impressive stat line: six tackles, two for loss, a recovered fumble, and a sack. He also changed the field by more than 40 yards on three of his four punts, which were important in a game of field position that featured just the one score.

Other defensive stars included Camarri Hayes (six tackles, sack) and David Powell (four tackles, sack). Amir Boyd Vaughn and E’Carri Jones each caught an interception in the end zone preventing Natomas TDs; Amontay Overstreet recovered an important fumble that followed a Royal interception and Toa Atuatasi tallied a sack. Aaron Vang, Leandre Lockett, and Jaiyden Stanley all contributed three tackles each.