Home-opening loss drops Rams to 0-2 in nonconference play
GILROY — A 10-point lead in the third quarter was not enough of an advantage to result in a non-Coast Conference victory for Gavilan College Saturday afternoon at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex.
Instead, the Rams dropped a 30-28 decision to the visiting Merced College Blue Devils to slip to 0-2 going into the A-conference portion of their nonconference schedule.
“We shot ourselves in the foot too many times,” Gavilan coach John Lango said. The Rams lost the ball twice on fumbles, were forced to punt 10 times and gave up one safety.
Despite the mistakes by the Rams, the team was able to strike for 349 yards of total offense, force one safety and put on a successful four-play goal line stand when Merced threatened in the first quarter.
Two starters who missed the first game of the season came back in strong fashion for Gavilan.
Sophomore running back Doug Stewart set up a go-ahead touchdown march in the third quarter with a sparkling 49-yard sweep, then pulled in a 30-yard scoring pass from Cameron Hernandez in the third quarter to give Gavilan a 28-18 lead.
Wide receiver Matt McGill caught four Hernandez passes for 57 yards. McGill’s leaping catch of a Hernandez toss in the game’s final six minutes solved a third-and-18 situation and allowed the Rams to move inside the Blue Devil 16-yard stripe for a potential game-winning field goal.
“Gavilan was tough — they came right at us,” Merced coach Bob Casey said after winning his first game as the school’s head coach. “We stayed together, even though we gave up a lot of yardage.”
Merced received 248 yards of total offense by back-up quarterback Edward Thomas. The 6-foot-1 freshman left-hander rushed for one touchdown and threw for two more, turning a scoreless game after 20 minutes into a high-scoring showdown.
“Edward’s a pretty dynamic kid,” said Casey, who pulled starter Adam Ragsdale after one series. Along with keeping several key plays alive by avoiding a strong Gavilan rush, Thomas turned a broken play into an 11-yard scoring run around the right flank for the final points of the game with 8:45 left.
Merced’s Paris Powell, who covered 70 yards in 17 carries, scampered 18 yards to the Gavilan 2-yard line five minutes into action. After Powell gained one yard on two carries, Thomas was stopped twice just outside the goal line to give the ball over to the Rams.
The Blue Devils reached the Gavilan 9 on their next series before a Thomas fumble was recovered by Ram Taylor Cousttete.
Merced was limited to one first down the next two series before a Hernandez fumble gave the Blue Devils possession at the Rams’ 34. Emmanuel Brooks raced 33 yards on second down for the game’s first touchdown. Daniel Mouro’s extra point kick left the visitors up 7-0 with 9:29 left in the first half.
Starting the next series on their own 11, the Rams gave up a safety with 8:29 left when a low shotgun snap resulted in the ball being dropped out of the back of the end zone.
The Blue Devils, coming off a 49-0 loss to San Joaquin Delta last weekend, needed only four plays after the free kick to add a touchdown for a 15-0 lead. Thomas lofted a 43-yard pass to Eddie Beavers on the first play, then fired a 9-yarder into the end zone to Montory Bellamy.
Gavilan had the ball on the Blue Devil 45 with 58 seconds left in the half, facing fourth down. Merced called a timeout, a tactic that helped Gavilan register eight points before the intermission. A Ryan Costa punt was downed on the 1-yard line and defensive lineman Richard Perez helped the Rams earn a safety with 45 seconds left by stuffing Brooks in the end zone. Gavilan followed with an 11-yard wide receiver reverse by McGill before Hernandez threaded a touchdown pass covering 25 yards to Chad West behind the secondary.
The Rams pulled even, 15-15, with a 75-yard drive in the third quarter. West shook out of a leg tackle and bolted 26 yards to the Merced one. Hernandez deftly dove over right guard for the final yard and Live Oak High graduate Jeff Roberts made the PAT kick with 10:03 left in the third quarter.
A 55-yard improvised play by Thomas left the Blue Devils at the Rams’ 9. Mouro’s 19-yard field goal with 7:35 left in the quarter made it 18-15.
Stewart’s 49-yard sweep led to another Hernandez touchdown run, this one from four yards out for a 21-18 lead with 5:55 to go in the third. West caught a 39-yard pass from Hernandez to keep a drive alive. Hernandez made that play pay off with a 30-yard scoring strike to Stewart behind the secondary. Roberts added the PAT for a 28-18 cushion with 3:15 left in the busy third quarter.
Merced accounted for five first downs on the next series, tight end Alex Young making the play of the game by snaring a 27-yard Thomas pass to wipe out a third-and-20 situation.
“We didn’t make the play on third-and-20,” said Lango of the game-changing pass.
The Blue Devils proceeded to score with 49 seconds left in the third, Thomas passing four yards to Bellamy to make it 28-24.
The Blue Devils needed three possessions in the fourth quarter before converting the winning touchdown, a Thomas jog around the right side from the 11. A potential game-winning field goal from 36 yards out was blocked with 4:17 left.
Hernandez, who played the bulk of the game for the Rams, hit 15 of 27 passes for 219 yards. Stewart managed 86 yards on 10 rushes. West finished with 102 yards on five catches. Thomas rushed for 86 yards on 17 plays and added 162 yards on 15-of-32 passing for the winners.
