Stunned. Shocked. Dumbfounded. All of these words could be used to describe the scene after the first quarter of Saturday’s game between the Central Coast Barnstormers and the North Bay Rattlers, the top teams in the National Conference and American Conference, respectively
Stunned, shocked, dumbfounded – all of these words could be used to describe the scene after the first quarter of Saturday’s game between the Central Coast Barnstormers and the North Bay Rattlers, the top teams in the National Conference and American Conference, respectively.
The Barnstormers’ offense, going up against a potent Rattler defense, had leapt out to a 19-7 lead and were looking to snowball things into a thorough beating. But although the fast start didn’t necessarily turn into a comfortable victory for Central Coast, it was enough for the Gilroy semipro football team in the end, as the Barnstormers held on to an 19-17 victory to remain undefeated on the season.
Central Coast is now 4-0 overall, while the Rattlers fall to 3-1.
Omari Carr had a sensational breakaway run on the first drive to put the Barnstormers in scoring position with Ted Mason catching a pass in the back of the end zone to finish off the drive.
After the first quarter, however, the Rattlers’ defense tightened and denied the Barnstormers a single point for the rest of game. While the Barnstormers had numerous drives that approached scoring position, the Rattlers managed to keep them out of the end zone with some aggressive pressure from the blitz.
The Barnstormer defense came through at clutch moments with safety Lance Goularte tallying two interceptions, putting himself in the NCFL lead with six on the season. Defensive end Korey Gray continued his bid for the league lead in sacks, notching 1.5 more to bring his season total to 7.5 sacks – just half of a sack shy of the NCFL lead – while Adrian Melendez added a clutch fumble recovery to thwart a promising looking drive by the Rattlers.
The Barnstormers head into Saturday’s contest versus the Pacifica Islanders in high spirits. The game, which kicks off at 6 p.m., at Gilroy High, could determine the league champion and have serious playoff implications.
Both the Barnstormers and the Islanders enter the contest undefeated.
