Points are the only thing missing in road losses for Morgan
Hill
SARATOGA — The Morgan Hill Junior Midget Raiders on Sunday traveled to Saratoga High to play the West Valley Falcons.
Although the balanced attack of West Valley’s offense proved too much for Morgan Hill (2-3-1 overall), the Raiders had bright spots on both sides of the ball in a 27-6 loss.
The Falcons (6-1) attempted five on-side kicks throughout the afternoon, and the sure-handed Mike Porras was able to recover the ball for the Raiders on a few occasions — including one effort in which he earned positive yards after making a leaping grab.
Defensively, the Raiders continued their strong tackling with key contributions from Dylan Pate, Justin Ide and Riley Vandegriff. Matthew Bellah and Jesse Osuna broke up two of West Valley’s 18 passes attempted. Jackson Davis, Jonathan Freitas, Anthony Ditta and Josh Alaniz provided run support from the defensive line and allowed linebackers Ryan Quadros, Dan Dunham and Osuna to continue their season of strong play against opposing running games.
Trailing 27-0 midway through the third quarter, the Raiders turned to the powerful running of Osuna, who amassed much of his 122 rushing yards in the 4th quarter behind strong work by Morgan Hill’s offensive line. Osuna scored on an 18-yard run with a little more than five minutes remaining, and the Raiders’ hope was kept alive on the ensuing drive when the Morgan Hill defense held the Falcons to three and out, forcing a punt. Raiders linebacker Colby Laubach stormed in and blocked the kick, though, and the Raiders recovered with nearly four minutes on the clock. The Raiders’ offense picked up where it left off, pounding the ball forward until a fumble stopped Morgan Hill short of another score.
The Raiders will go for their third win — and to keep their playoff hopes alive — at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Sports Complex, where they will host a strong Santa Cruz Seahawks team (3-3).
JUNIOR PEE WEE
West Valley 28, Morgan Hill 0
The Morgan Hill Raiders lost 28-0 to the West Valley Falcons on the road Saturday.
The Raiders’ determination and teamwork could not hold off the Falcons, who started off strong in the opening quarter.
For Morgan Hill, first-half highlights included impressive sacks by Trent Costello and Paul Lomanto. Raiders linebacker Dylan Jud flew in to block a point-after kick.
Morgan Hill defensive linemen D.J. Washington, Devon Buenrostro and Nathan Camacho demonstrated effective tackling going into the second half with the Falcons leading 14-0. Despite center Caleb Schwan’s powerful blocking and quarterback Miles Kendrick’s effort to drive the ball down the field, the Falcons’ defense held the Raiders scoreless.
The Falcons scored two more touchdowns in the second half to close out the win.
The Raiders (3-3 overall) have two home games remaining.
