If you didn’t pay much attention to the scoreboard during the
first half of Gavilan College’s season-opener against Solano on
Saturday, you probably would’ve thought the Rams were getting run
off the field.
If you didn’t pay much attention to the scoreboard during the first half of Gavilan College’s season-opener against Solano on Saturday, you probably would’ve thought the Rams were getting run off the field.
Everything about the tone of the game, and even a look at the stat sheet, showed that the Falcons were controlling the game.
Solano had 252 yards of total offense to Gavilan’s 92. Solano had recorded nine first downs, Gavilan had only five and didn’t record its first until three minutes into the second quarter.
The way the first half ended was inaspicious for the Rams as well. With the ball at their own 37-yard line, the shotgun snap to quarterback Sam Moultrie was fumbled and eventually recovered by Solano and returned to the 5-yard line with less than five seconds left.
But despite it all, Gavilan was still in the game. The Falcons didn’t take advantage of having the ball at the 5 and the result was a mere 14-7 deficit at the half with the Rams set to receive the second half kickoff.
That was enough to give Gavilan some sort of confidence that it could still salvage the game.
The Rams came out in the second half and seemed poised to take advantage of the fact that Solano had done just enough to keep Gavilan in the game.
Former Gilroy High star running back Justin Sweeney returned the kickoff to the Rams’ 47-yard line and a Falcons’ personal foul moved the ball to the Solano 38.
Sweeney took the handoff on the first play from scrimmage and raced 19 yards to put Gavilan inside the 20. But three plays later on fourth-and-five, a pitch play to Sweeney came up short of the first down and the Falcons took over on downs.
“We drive all the way down and then don’t get in the end zone. It’s just one of those things that we can’t do that,” Rams head coach John Lango said. “We have got to finish and we didn’t. That’s going to be one of the things we’ll have to work on this week.”
Even after Gavilan failed to take advantage of the field position, the Rams received another chance to tie the game. On the second play of Solano’s ensuing drive, Gavilan freshman defensive back Jeff Weltz (San Benito) intercepted a Neville pass and returned it to the Falcons’ 9.
Three plays later, there was a fumbled snap – one of four Gavilan fumbles on the night – and Solano recovered to spoil another scoring opportunity.
“As I told the kids, we have got to be perfect in everything we do and we weren’t,” Lango said.
The running game provided one of the few bright spots on the night.
Sweeney gutted out a 20-carry, 84-yard performance but overall the team had just 71 yards on 34 carries.
“I thought we ran the ball well,” Lango said. “I thought our (defensive) line played their butts off. There were some bright spots here and there. Some players played extremely well. Some players did not play well at all.”
But Lango is confident that his team can turn things around and said there will be some shake ups.
“There’s going to be some changes,” he said. “Not necessarily changes, but there’s got to be some attitude adjustments. That’s what’s going to happen.”
