The Golden State Amateur Football League
’s National Conference championship game started with a thrill,
muddled through a sluggish middle and finished with a flurry of
action. Unfortunately for the Central Coast Barnstormers, the
thrilling start was a kickoff return for a touchdown by the Daly
City Renegades’ Akbar Jones on the game’
s very first play. The excitement at the end, meanwhile,
culminated in a Juwan Cherry interception of Barnstormer
quarterback Bryan Smith that the Renegade defensive back returned
45 yards to the Central Coast 1-yard line with just 1:41 left in
the fourth quarter. Down 14-7 at that point, the Barnst
ormers made a spirited goal-line stand to prevent the Renegades
from running up the score further as time expired on Central
Coast’s shot at a win and a spot in the GSAFL’s Golden State Bowl
on July 2.
The Golden State Amateur Football League’s National Conference championship game started with a thrill, muddled through a sluggish middle and finished with a flurry of action.
Unfortunately for the Central Coast Barnstormers, the thrilling start was a kickoff return for a touchdown by the Daly City Renegades’ Akbar Jones on the game’s very first play. The excitement at the end, meanwhile, culminated in a Juwan Cherry interception of Barnstormer quarterback Bryan Smith that the Renegade defensive back returned 45 yards to the Central Coast 1-yard line with just 1:41 left in the fourth quarter.
Down 14-7 at that point, the Barnstormers made a spirited goal-line stand to prevent the Renegades from running up the score further as time expired on Central Coast’s shot at a win and a spot in the GSAFL’s Golden State Bowl on July 2.
“The defense has been carrying us for a while,” said Central Coast center and team co-founder Jose Rodriguez. “They’ve been the heart and soul of this team.”
The score would remain 7-0 in Daly City’s favor through three quarters of play under the lights at foggy Kezar Stadium.
The Barnstormers’ defensive effort in a back-and-forth game played out in the middle of the field finally paid off at the beginning of the fourth quarter, when Smith connected with David Gittens on a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
On Daly City’s next possession, Renegade quarterback Jason Piccolotti looked to be marching his team up the field to counter the Renegade equalizer.
But after moving Daly City to the Central Coast 37, Piccolotti’s second-down pass was broken up by the Barnstormers’ David Flores. The Renegade passer connected with Dante Dudley for a 13-yard gain on third down, but Flores was again in the heart of the action, forcing the Daly City wideout to fumble. The Barnstormers’ George Plaza recovered the ball and Central Coast was back in business.
Smith and company weren’t able to capitalize on the turnover, however, and the Barnstormers were forced to punt to Jones, who returned the ball to his own 36.
The ensuing Daly City drive ended with Piccolotti tossing a third-down floater to the back right corner of the end zone from 8 yards out that tight end Ben Unutoa snagged for the go-ahead touchdown.
Getting the ball back with 3:22 left in the game, the Barnstormers would go from their own 20 to the 35-yard line. There the Central Coast drive stalled, ending on a fourth-down incompletion with five yards to the first down.
As the clock ticked down, the Barnstormer defense again came up with the supreme effort that would be the story of the game for Central Coast.
After stopping Daly City three times at the Central Coast 35, the Barnstormers forced a Renegade punt which sailed into the endzone.
Starting on their own 20 and down 14-7, Central Coast had one last chance to even things up with 1:41 left.
Smith, under pressure and desperate for a game-breaking play, forced one towards the left sideline that the Renegades’ Cherry zeroed in on.
Their chances of advancement in the playoffs washed away into the misty night at Kezar, the Barnstormers had only their pride to play for as they made a last-minute stand at the goal line to prevent another Renegade score.
“We’re really disappointed,” said Rodriguez, whose team has lost in the National Conference title game each of the past three years. “It’s our third year in the championship game but we can’t seem to close it out.
“A couple of dropped balls and a couple of calls that didn’t go our way, it’s anybody’s game. We’ll work on what we need to and come back strong next year.”
The Barnstormers finish the season 8-5, while the Renegades improve to 11-1 and will meet the Capital City Fury in the Golden State Bowl this Saturday at Kezar.
