JV Indians take Little Big Game

The Little Big Game, featuring the junior varsity Napa Indians and host Vintage Crushers, was the perfect prelude to the epic battle that would be the varsity contest.

In Little Big Game XXXVI, the Indians knocked off the Crushers in exciting fashion Friday night at Memorial Stadium with an 8-6 win.

The Indians got on the board first behind the running efforts of freshman Cody Johnson. Napa, which received the opening kickoff, marched downfield to put up six points with 4:13 left in the first quarter. Johnson scored on a toss from quarterback Charles Boyett. Boyett connected with Travis Kelham to complete the two-point conversion, putting Napa up 8-0.

Much of the excitement took place in the fourth quarter when Vintage (0-5, 1-9 overall) took the ball over on downs with under four minutes to go in the contest.
The Crushers’ Matt Orrick broke free for a 69-yard run to the end zone. With 3:01 left, Vintage was on the board trailing by two. A two-point PAT attempt was necessary to tie the game, but was stifled by the Indian defense.

Vintage attempted the onside kick following the score but the ball was recovered by the Indians’ Ben Pickett and with just seconds to go, Napa held on to the victory.

“I’m so proud of our kids,” Vintage head coach Jim Nunley said. “Throughout our season, we have been giving up about 40 points a game and to hold Napa to just eight (points) is a testament to how hard the kids have worked.”

Nunley was also impressed with his team’s defensive efforts. “We threw a different front at them because we knew how potent they could be. I’m just thrilled with our defensive play.”

Vintage’s Reed Huddleston recovered a Napa fumble to lead the Crusher defense.

The Napa victory gives the Indians their fifth win, second in league play.

“This team has overcome a lot of adversity this season. I’m so excited for them. They stayed positive and improved each week. Our record doesn’t reflect just how good this team is,” Napa head coach Nick Tedesco said. “The kids will never forget this night. I even got a little emotional afterwards.”

Napa finishes the season with a 2-3 league record (5-4-1 overall).

Indians strand 13 base runners in first-round playoff exit

CARMICHAEL — The Napa High baseball team saw its season come to a close with an 8-2 loss to Elk Grove in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs on Saturday night.

Elk Grove (18-10 overall), which put up two runs in the first inning and six in the second, held Napa (17-10) to just four hits in the game at American River College. The Thundering Herd advanced to play Davis — a 5-1 winner Saturday over Folsom — at 7 p.m. today at ARC.

With most of the action coming in the first and second innings, the Indians had to play catch-up after the first inning got off to a controversial start.

With runners at first and second and one out, Elk Grove’s Jake Rodriguez hit a sharp base hit to right field to plate Miguel Rubio for the first run of the game while moving David Freitas to second.

Josh McMahon followed with a fly ball that Indians center fielder Ryan Kostecka appeared to have caught. Kostecka threw back to first base, thinking he had also caught Rodriguez for the double play, only to find the umpire crew declaring no catch. Freitas came into score on the play, putting Elk Grove up 2-0.

Napa led off the bottom of the first with a Kostecka walk, followed by a base hit from Mike Santora, but the pair were left stranded. That set the tone for the rest of the night, as the Indians left 13 base runners stranded.

“We didn’t cash in on opportunities,” Napa skipper Todd Pridy said. “We had heard that if we could force them (Elk Grove) to play defense that they could make mistakes, but we couldn’t put the ball in play.”

The Thundering Herd proceeded to unload in their half of the second.

Troy Watson led off with a triple to left-center off the arm of Indians starter Jason Westerberg. Watson later scored on a wild pitch and Patrick O’Rourke worked the count full and took first on a base on balls. On a 1-1 count to Joel Hull, O’Rourke took off for second but was caught stealing by catcher Ted LeMasters, who threw down to Chad Albrecht for the tag. Westerberg went on to strike out Hull for the second out of the inning.

Leadoff hitter Rubio took first after being hit by a pitch and Justin Charles walked to bring up Freitas, who singled to left field to bring in Rubio, putting Elk Grove up 4-0. Rodriguez walked and McMahon singled to center field to score Charles and Freitas.

Pridy brought in Ryan Brown to get Napa the final out of the inning, but not before two more Elk Grove runs had come in. Brown fared well for the Indians, pitching 2-2⁄3 innings and giving up only three hits, but the damage had been done.

“We were ready. We were prepared. We knew we just needed to produce that night and we couldn’t. It was very frustrating,” Pridy said.

The Indians tried to get their offense going in the bottom of the second inning after Brandon Savin (1-for-3) led off with a base on balls. Albrecht grounded out to third base, moving Savin over to second, and John Boyett walked. Kostecka stepped in the box and the first pitch was a passed ball, moving Savin and Boyett into scoring position. But Watson shut down the rally by striking out Kostecka for the third out.

Napa didn’t have another hit until the fourth inning, when LeMasters got an RBI base hit to right field that knocked in Boyett after he had reached on a walk. The Indians struggled for runs the remainder of the game, putting up only one more in the bottom of the seventh after Robbie Steen walked. Jason Hagan came in to pinch-run for Steen and later scored on a hard-hit double off the bat of Nick Placone.

“It was a very good season. I’m very proud of the team, but we didn’t put forth our best effort. I told them after the game that this is probably going to sting for a while,” Pridy said.

The first Indians baseball club to win the Monticello Empire League since 1977 will graduate seven seniors — Kostecka, Hagan, LeMasters, Brown, Placone, Albrecht and Westerberg.

Mistakes prove costly, Napa High eliminated by Yuba

SACRAMENTO — The Napa High School baseball season ended on Saturday night following a 7-2 loss to Yuba City on the campus of American River College in the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs. Defensive errors and base running mistakes led to the Indians’ demise. Metro League champion Yuba City capitalized on four costly Napa errors.

“We had a number of uncharacteristic mistakes,” head coach Toddy Pridy said. “We had base running mistakes and we didn’t take the smart at bats that we had been over the last couple of weeks.”

Indians starting pitcher Matt Derr competed for the Indians, but had to pitch through a deficit from early on in the contest. The Honkers got on the board in their half of the first inning when Shane Kunkle led off with a walk. Kunkle moved to second on a bunt off the bat of Brock Stassi and a fielding error put Stassi at first. Max Stassi laid down a sacrifice bunt to move runners to second and third and with one out, Brian Garcia hit a sharp ground ball to Indians’ shortstop Chad Albrecht, who got the out at first. The RBI for Garcia was the first run of the game and Napa would have to play catch up for the rest of the contest.

“Matt Derr pitched well for us. He had great command and battled, as he did all year. He was definitely up for the challenge,” Pridy said.

Napa bats started to come alive in the top of the third when Nelson Saldivar (2-for-3, two singles) stroked a base hit down the third base line for a single. John Boyett’s ground ball moved Saldivar to second and with two outs, lead off hitter Ryan Kostecka (2-for-4, double, run, RBI) hit a scorching ground ball to the right side. Honkers’ first baseman Brian Garcia made a diving stop but an errant throw to first brought Saldivar home. Mike Santora (1-for-3) stepped into the box and with a 1-1 count, had an infield hit to move Kostecka to second. Indians three-hitter, Ted LeMasters (1-for-3, single, RBI) got his chance to do some damage with a 2-0 count but Napa’s offensive strike was stifled when Kostecka was caught stealing third for the final out.

Yuba City saw its chance to put a few more runs on the board in its half of the third inning when lead off hitter Kunkle reached on an error. Brock Stassi hit a chopper to the left side that yielded another Napa error. With runners at the corners, Max Stassi hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Kunkle and an errant relay throw moved Brock Stassi to second. Yuba City pulled ahead 2-1. An errant pickoff move moved Brock Stassi to third and Alan Hudson’s sacrifice fly scored Brock Stassi to put the Honkers up 3-1 going into the fourth.

Max Stassi, a freshman for the Honkers, added to his season high numbers when he doubled to the left field fence to bring in two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Yuba City went up 5-1.

“His numbers are pretty impressive,” Pridy said of Stassi. “I think both teams recognized the abilities of their opponents. It was evident by the lack of stolen base attempts that both coaches recognized the ability of the catchers on the field.”

The Indians started to get their offense going again in the sixth when Boyett led off with a walk. Kostecka doubled to left field, moving Boyett to third. Santora hit into a fielder’s choice and Honkers’ third baseman Robby Ward chose to get Boyett at home for the first out of the inning. LeMasters had a base hit to left field to score Kostecka and move Santora to second, but that wall the Indians could muster.

Yuba City plated a couple more runs in the last innings of play and Napa couldn’t catch up.

Napa, which will be losing five seniors (Derr, Saldivar, David Hagan, Nick Galli and Jordan Martini), had come off a five-game winning streak that included a victory over Will C. Wood and a big win over cross-town rival Vintage.

“We had great contributions from our seniors this year,” Pridy said. “We have two all-league selections in Derr and Martini, David Hagan contributed on the mound and while Saldivar and Galli had bouts with illness and injury, they still came back and contributed. I hope they will look back at this season as a positive experience.”

“We want to build on this,” Pridy said. “Now the players have seen the lights and the stage. I think it’s completely reasonable to expect us to reach this position again next season.”

The Indians finish the season with a 15-11 overall record and were the first Napa High club to reach the playoffs since 1998.

Yuba City will take on Elk Grove tonight at American River College at 7 p.m.

Napa High closes in on Arco

GALT — The Napa High School girls basketball team is one step closer to Arco Arena and a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship with their 63-45 victory over Golden Valley Saturday afternoon.

In typical Napa High girls basketball fashion, the Indians let their tough pressure defense hound the Golden Valley offense, making it difficult for the Cougars to get any good looks at the basket. Golden Valley still played the Indians tough, but Napa would only allow them to have the lead in the first quarter before coming back and tying it up at 10 apiece with 3:56 left in the first on a Karyn Franco three-point shot.

Franco had all 15 of her points come from outside the arc.

“I’m really happy with the way Karyn played,” head coach Darci Lewis said. “She really stepped it up offensively.”

Nicoletta Geyer (26 points, 11 rebounds) extended the Indians’ lead with two buckets with a minute to go in the first and Lindsey Dreher went underneath for two points of her own, putting Napa up 19-12. Golden Valley’s Laticia Booker hit a jumper at the buzzer to end the first quarter, but Napa had gained the momentum and wouldn’t let it go the rest of the game.

The Indians went on a scoring barrage in the second quarter when Geyer stole the ball and converted for two points. Dreher turned around after that play to steal it again from the Cougars and found Geyer underneath for an easy bucket, increasing Napa’s lead to 23-16 with 6:46 left in the first half.

The Napa defense was at it again when Geyer intercepted a Golden Valley pass and drove it down for a layup 10 seconds later. Cougars’ head coach Matt Thissen called a timeout to try and freeze the Indians’ hot streak but no sooner did the teams get back on the court than Dreher had another steal. Dreher passed to Geyer up top who swung the ball over to Franco for one of her treys, making it 28-16 with just over six minutes to go in the half.

Napa got help from its bench in the form of Nina Pardo (eight points), who hit a jumper inside and followed it up with an offensive board and the put back.

“Nina did a phenomenal job,” Lewis said. “She did an excellent job of boxing out and coming off the bench and scoring when Katie (Keilig) was in foul trouble.”

The Cougars’ Kim Spinardi (22 points) hit a turnaround jumper to get Golden Valley back in the action but the Indians had already pulled too far ahead. Napa closed the first half still on top 35-22.

The Indians didn’t let up in the third quarter and picked right back up where they had left off at halftime with Katie Keilig (nine points, six rebounds, six assists) nailing a long two-point shot just inside the paint. Spinardi followed with one of her four treys but the Indians’ offense would not relinquish.

While the Cougars continued to fight through the second half, Napa kept its scoring cushion which was extended when Pardo got another bucket underneath and Franco scored from the outside again. Pardo followed it up with an intercepted pass and Geyer converted on the play with a bucket to put the Indians up 46-32 with 2:05 left in the third.

Napa’s defense was in typical form again when Keilig intercepted another pass and went back downcourt for the score. The Indians had a 15-point lead, 48-33, going into the final quarter of play.

Even with their lead, the Indians still used the fourth quarter to keep the Cougars at bay with more defense. Heather Gunderson had a steal and found Keilig for the layup.

“Heather had a great game despite not being on with her shooting. She understands the pressure defense and she is a smart and consistent player. We really needed her veteran leadership out there on the court and she definitely stepped up,” Lewis said.

Napa went on to score 15 more points in the fourth quarter to seal its victory over the Cougars.

“I’m really pleased with their performance today,” Lewis said. “We had heard Spinardi was their shooter and (Kelly) Leonardo was also a strong competitor for them so we knew what we were up against. We knew they had a zone defense so we practiced our offense to work around that. We had a great practice to prepare us for this game.”

Napa will face the winner of the Kennedy-Davis match-up on Wednesday at a time still to be determined at University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Vintage makes Napa work for 23-0 record

Any fan in attendence at Napa High’s Messner Gymnasium Thursday night definitely got their money’s worth, as the Napa High School girls basketball team extended its win streak with a victory over rival Vintage High School, 57-40.

The Crushers gave the undefeated Indians a scare in the first half, holding Napa scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of play.

Napa finally got on the board with a Karyn Franco free throw, making it 4-1 in favor of the Crushers.

Vintage’s tough defense in the first half, led by Marisa Hatcher, gave the Indians a tough time, but Napa closed the gap in the second quarter after completing the first quarter trailing 13-5.
Vintage’s first-quarter points were the work of Michelle Yeoman and Hatcher with four apiece, as well as three from Jessica Zeller and a bucket from Katie Montez.

Napa turned it up in the second quarter with help from Bonnie Freeland, who put up five points. With 3:42 left in the first half, the Crushers were still ahead 17-11.

“Bonnie had a fantastic first half,” Napa head coach Darci Lewis said. “She played smart defense and pushed the ball to score.”

Freeland hit Vanessa Priest for a quick two points and Freeland followed it up with a three-point shot of her own as the Crushers watched their lead shrink to just one, 17-16. With 55 seconds left to go in the half, Napa ran a motion offense and Franco found Priest to tie the game at 18-18.

Hatcher responded with a bucket of her own and forced up a shot with 30 seconds left, putting the Crushers up 20-18. But with just 3.2 seconds on the clock, Napa’s Lindsey Dreher nailed a buzzer beater to tie it up 20-20 going into the locker room at halftime.

Napa used its mid-game break to stress its defensive approach.

“We talked about our defense and who the key people to cover were,” Lewis said. “We needed to fix our help defense. Vintage had made a lot of adjustments since that last time we faced them and came out ready to play.”

The Indians took their coaches’ words to heart and came out strong in the second half � and looked more like the Napa team of old.

Napa’s defense worked the court at both ends, forcing Vintage turnovers and capitalizing on the mistakes.

“We went into the second half with the mentality that it was a new game since it was 20-20. We knew we needed to go out and play our game,” Freeland said.

The Indians took their first lead of the night when Nicoletta Geyer grabbed a defensive board and went coast to coast for a layup, 22-20.

Katie Keilig turned around and stole the ball from Vintage and took her turn running the length of the court for a bucket.

Geyer’s third-quarter presence on the court carried the Indians’ offense, as the senior posted 14 of her 21 total points in the quarter.

“Nicoletta came out strong in the second half. She was looking to pass but not afraid to look for the three. She was ready to go,” Lewis said.

The Crushers still hung with Napa, as Hatcher added six more points.

But it was the Indians, with the help of Geyer, who widened their lead and closed the third quarter ahead 38-31.

The Indians used the fourth quarter to pull ahead and give themselves their first solid cushion of the night. Dreher opened the fourth with a jumper, putting Napa ahead 40-31. Montez answered back with bucket of her own, but Keilig found Geyer for two Napa points. The Indians inched ahead and with 5:09 left in the contest, Napa was leading 48-35.

Montez and Hatcher did their best to keep their team in the game but the Indians dominated the fourth quarter of play to give them the final edge and their eventual victory.

“The kids played their hearts out,” Vintage coach Dave Holman said. “It’s always frustrating to play the best team in the league without one of your big guns. Napa’s fast break just killed us, but the girls played the best possible game they could have.”

Napa improves to 10-0 in league play (23-0 overall), while Vintage drops to 6-4 in the MEL (13-9 overall).

Vintage JV 53, Napa 46

In junior varsity action, the Crushers bested Napa, again in nail-biting fashion. Vintage had a six-point lead with a minute and a half to go. Napa closed the gap to four on a layup with 42 seconds left. But Vintage hit two final free throws with 12 seconds left to give the Crushers the final advantage over Napa.

Napa continues hot streak

The Napa High varsity girls basketball team kept its streak alive with a 59-34 win over cross-town rival Vintage High School Friday night at Napa’s Messner Gymnasium. The Indians, who improve to 5-0 in Monticello Empire League play (17-0 overall), got the best of the Crushers all evening, with senior Karyn Franco nailing four 3-point baskets. Franco finished the evning as Napa’s leading scorer with 15 points.

Vintage got first grabs at tip-off and Marisa Hatcher went hard inside for the first points of the contest and added two more on a bucket from Jessica Zeller, but the Indians would not be outdone at home. Katie Keilig was fouled and went to the line to get the Indians on the board with 6:34 to go in the first quarter. Keilig hit two free throws making the score 4-2 in favor of the Crushers.

Franco had another offensive strike on a rebound, putting Napa up 5-4. The Indians didn’t look back all night.

With a little over a minute left in the first quarter, Napa began to pull ahead. With back to back buckets from Lindsey Dreher and Nicoletta Geyer, the Indians had a 14-6 lead with a minute to go in the first. Geyer hit another layup to give Napa an eight-point lead going into the second quarter, 16-8.

Napa continued their offensive showing and added a strong defensive presence that proved too much for Vintage, who drops to 2-3 in the MEL (9-7 overall). Vintage’s offensive power came in the form of Hatcher, who finished the evening with 13 points.

“Marisa did an excellent job tonight,” Napa head coach Darci Lewis said. “My hat’s off to her.”

Vintage closed the gap in the second quarter with 13 points bringing them within six at the half, 27-21.

Still, Napa opened up the third quarter with 10 unanswered points and the Crushers shots wouldn’t fall, as they scored their first points of the second half with just 3:37 left to go in the quarter.

The Indians’ pressure defense didn’t leave much for the Crusher offense to work with, as they closed the third quarter trailing 45-27.

Napa had defensive help from Geyer (10 rebounds) and Keilig (nine rebounds) and Nina Pardo, who came off the bench to add fire to the Indian defense.

“Nina was tough on the boards tonight,” Lewis said. “And it was great to have Bonnie (Freeland) ready to go off the bench.”

Lewis was pleased with her team’s overall performance and continued display of chemistry, despite the pressures of a Big Game atmosphere.

“We shot really well from the outside tonight and the defense really stepped it up. We were able to build on our press and all the pieces fell into place,” Lewis said.

JV Girls Basketball

Vintage 34, Napa 31

The Crushers bested Napa with the majority of the excitement coming in the last two minutes of the game. With Vintage up by one, a Crusher free throw increased their lead to 31-29 with 1:06 left to go. Napa’s Kendall Pelfini tied it up with one basket of her own, making the score 31-31 with just 40 seconds left. In the final 10 seconds, the Crushers sank another free throw and an additional basket to give them the victory.

Vintage JV wraps up strong season with Little Big Game win

The Vintage High School junior varsity football team definitely took advantage of the Big Game atmosphere Thursday night at Memorial Stadium, as the Crushers defeated cross-town rival Napa High by a 42-14 score in the Little Big Game.

The Crushers had a multi-threat offense working for them under the helm of freshman quarterback Sean Ryan. Ryan was 9-for-13 passing on the night for 229 yards.

“Our freshmen really shined tonight,” Crushers head coach Billy Smith said. “Sean Ryan has competed all year and finished up with 21 touchdown passes on the year.”

The Crushers got on the board first when Ryan took them into the end zone on a 33-yard option keeper with 7:13 in the first quarter.
The PAT attempt was no good and Vintage settled into a lead the Crushers would not relinquish all evening.

With just over two minutes to go in the first quarter, Vintage had the ball on the Napa 2-yard line and Ryan again pushed through on a quarterback sneak. A two-point conversion boosted the Crushers to a 14-0 cushion.

But the Indians would not be shut out. Just as the second quarter was underway, Napa’s Adam Timmons had an 11-yard carry to get the Indians on the board, 6-0. And just as fast as Napa had closed the gap, the Crushers widened it again when running back Justin Seward ran for a 60-yard score. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Crushers ahead, 20-6.

Napa picked up a bit of a running game late in the first half when Jake Croxdale (16 carries for 153 yards) scored on an 8-yard run with 5:25 left in the first half. A Vintage face mask penalty gave the Indians a second attempt for a PAT and Croxdale ran it in, making the score 20-14.

The Crushers mixed up their offensive plan when Ryan found Travis Steen open in the right flat for one of his three touchdown passes on the night. The two-point conversion was good and Vintage led 28-14 at the half.

“(Offensive coordinator) Justin Nunley called an outstanding game. It is fun to play with this offense. They did what they needed to do tonight and got the job done,” Smith said.

Vintage would go on to score twice more in the second half when Ryan again used an air attack to find Seward for a touchdown pass and again on a 70-yard touchdown pass to Derek Long.

That was all the Crushers needed to seal a victory.

“We had a great season. This is as close a team as I have ever coached,” Napa head coach Wayne Harbison said. “These players were like brothers. It will be tough to say goodbye. Jake Croxdale was the heart of our offense and our offensive line, led by Robbie Steen, Marco Garcia and Xavier Bahania, all played their hearts out. Vintage played well. They came out and hit on all cylinders and we just couldn’t keep up.”

The Crushers’ season ends with a 8-1-1 overall record and a 3-1-1 mark in the MEL, while Napa closes the season at 8-2 overall and 3-2 in league play.

Napa High football continues dominance

Napa High School rolled to victory with a 35-7 non-league football win over the visiting Bethel Jaguars Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

Napa, which improves to 4-0, had one main goal to accomplish when facing the speedy Jaguars: contain quarterback Bobby Guillory.

“The goal was to slow him down,” Napa head coach Jerry Dunlap said. “The blackshirts (Napa’s defensive unit) did really well.”

Napa held Bethel’s potent quarterback to just 78 rushing yards throughout the game and 45 passing yards.

Unfortunately for Bethel, its defense couldn’t do the same thing to Napa. In the Indians’ second offensive series, quarterback Ted LeMasters took Napa from its own 39-yard line into the end zone on a 61-yard run with 5:56 left in the first quarter to put the Indians on the board first, 6-0.

Bethel’s Guillory responded with an attempt to get something going for the Jaguars, only to find himself pushed deep into his own territory. On second and 12, Guillory launched a bullet, intended for receiver Anthony Gillespie, but the pass was broken up by Indians’ defensive back Nelson Saldivar, bringing up third and 12. Guillory again tried to find an open target downfield and completed a pass to Darnell Grier. But that was about all Napa’s defense would give to the speedy senior quarterback, as the Napa defense recovered the first of many Bethel fumbles with 2:41 left in the first. The recovery gave Napa field position with the ball on the 47-yard line and Napa’s offense starting to roll again.

LeMasters completed a pass to Brett Wagoner for a 19-yard pickup and a first down, followed by a Gabe Guastucci rushing play to tack on two more yards, bringing the ball to the 31. The Indians used their running game to push deeper into Jaguar territory, and six seconds into the second quarter LeMasters found the end zone again on an eight-yard run. With Linden Fowler’s PAT kick, the Indians widened the margin to 13-0.

The Napa defense took its cue accordingly and after the kickoff, Napa’s Jason Westerberg recovered the second Bethel fumble on the Bethel 49, giving Napa’s offense a chance to score again. The Indians didn’t waste any time marching downfield. LeMasters found Dustin Avilla open over the middle for a 20-yard gain. The Indians used their running game again with an Andrew Frasier carry. From the shotgun formation, LeMasters hit Avilla again, while picking up a roughing the passer penalty to tack on more yardage to the Indians’ offensive strike. Wagoner ran the ball to the 10 and Frasier barreled through the Bethel defense into the end zone, but a holding penalty brought the ball back out to the 15 and forced Napa to try again. With 7:55 left in the half, LeMasters dropped back to pass and looked to Royce Beaudry, who pulled the pass in for the Indians’ score. Fowler’s kick was good and the Indians were up 20-0.

Napa’s defense took over and right off, forced another Bethel fumble. Guillory recovered and guided an offensive strike of his own. On second and five at the Bethel 27, Guillory found an opening and picked up 30 yards to move the ball into Indian territory at the 43. Guillory found Gillespie open and gained a few more yards. Bethel used its own running game on a Grier running play that went for 23 yards and put the ball at the 16. But Napa’s defense only let Guillory get the end zone in sight before Avilla recovered a fumble to stop the Bethel scoring threat and the Indians’ offense was at it again.

LeMasters passed to Avilla for a 16-yard pick up. A running play forced a loss of five yards and on third and 17 on their own 34-yard line, LeMasters dropped back to pass. As his arm went into motion, the Jaguar defense knocked the ball loose and recovered the ball. Napa’s defense headed back out and three plays later, Napa’s Remy Trifforiot recovered a Bethel fumble to give Napa’s offense another chance to score.

Fowler picked up a first down on an 11-yard run and LeMasters found Beaudry again for a 41-yard completion. Frasier carried the ball on back-to-back running plays and picked up 11 yards and a first down for the Indians and brought the ball into the red zone. LeMasters picked up 10 yards on a keeper, then looked to Saldivar in the end zone. Bethel was charged with pass interference on the play, and with 26.8 seconds left in the half LeMasters ran into the end zone again, putting Napa up 26-0 going into halftime.

In the second half, Napa continued to silence the Jaguars while picking up another score of its own. Fowler ran up the middle for a 15-yard pickup and ran another four yards. LeMasters added five of his own yards and with a Bethel penalty tacked on, Napa had the ball on the Bethel 37-yard line. Frasier ran the ball to the 26 and Wagoner took the ball 11 more yards to bring it to the 15. With 2:34 left in the third quarter, Napa brought its field goal unit out and Fowler nailed a 32-yard kick, giving Napa a 29-0 lead.

Napa’s defense still stood strong in the second half and immediately forced a punt situation on Bethel. Napa took over with the ball on its own 34 before LeMasters hit Saldivar for a good pickup of yards. LeMasters handed off to Fowler, who ran upfield and was forced out of bounds at the Napa 32. Guastucci ran the ball for 13 yards and a first down brought the ball to the 45-yard line. LeMasters pitched to Fowler, who gained yards and two back-to-back 15-yard penalties on Bethel for unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct brought the ball to the Bethel 18. The Indians moved the ball closer to the end zone and Frasier finished the offensive strike with a 1-yard run with 8:50 left in the game, putting Napa up 35-0.

“We put 35 points on the board tonight and were able to get a lot of kids in the game for us. We had a good offensive tempo and the defense played quick and created turnovers. That’s what we want to take with us going into next week’s game,” Dunlap said.

Junior Varsity

* Napa High 44, Bethel 12

Napa picked up its fourth victory of the season.

“Our offensive line played well … led by Chris Rowe, who really stepped up for us,” head coach Wayne Harbison said. “Our defensive unit, including Garrick Abernathy, Justin Mensch and Bradley Wallace, did a great job. Our offense also moved the football well.”

Indians rush past Piner, now 2-0

The Napa High Indians rolled to a 56-21 victory over the Piner Prospectors Saturday afternoon in Santa Rosa, upping their record to 2-0.

The Indians didn’t waste any time putting the ball in the end zone when quarterback Ted LeMasters found Gabe Guastucci for a fifteen-yard touchdown pass a little over two minutes into the game. Matt Derr hit Hayden Campo on the left side of the end zone to complete the two-point conversion, putting Napa up 8-0.

The Indians’ special teams unit subsequently headed out for the kick off, only to stuff the Prospectors return at their own 12-yard line. Napa’s defense also brought its game, led by senior Remy Trifforiot, who tackled Piner’s running back on a sweep play.
So began what would end up being a long afternoon for the Prospectors, as all facets of the Indians’ squad executed their assignments, much to the dismay of the Piner team.

LeMasters was 14-of-15 passing for 281 yards and completed four touchdown passes, tying the school record held by Dave Jones and LeMasters’ older brother, Joe. He also set a new total yards passing record that was previously held by Napa High Hall of Fame member Bruce Tonascia with 280 yards.

LeMasters found targets all over the field, hitting Andrew Frasier five times for 173 yards. Frasier scored two of the Napa touchdowns, one on a 64-yard catch from LeMasters and the other on the ground on a 28-yard run.

The Indians used a big second quarter to give themselves a comfortable lead going into the second half. Napa’s defensive unit made quick work of the Prospectors offensive series, allowing the Indians’ offense to get on the field and convert their plays. Napa got on the board for a second time when Linden Fowler got the Indians’ field position on a 31 yard carry, putting the ball on the Piner 15-yard line.

Frasier took the ball to the four yard line before getting knocked out of bounds and Fowler carried the ball into the end zone two plays later, with 5:57 left in the first half. Fowler completed the PAT kick, putting Napa up 15-0.

Again, not wanting to miss any of the action, Napa’s special teams unit, led by Jason Westerberg, stifled the Prospector’s kick return opportunities. The defense stepped on the field again, only to force Piner into a punt situation. The Indians only gave up 39 yards rushing to Piner all afternoon, which added to the Indians’ offensive comfort.

LeMasters also found Royce Beaudry with 1:42 left in the half for a 16-yard touchdown pass and a Fowler kick extended Napa’s lead, 21-0, but the Indians weren’t done yet. With 43 seconds left in the half, Piner was forced to punt, giving Napa a chance to test out their two-minute offense. With the ball on their own 43 yard line, LeMasters hit Nelson Saldivar on a 36 yard run, putting the ball on the Piner 21 yard line with 15 seconds to go.

LeMasters found Beaudry on the right flat and Beaudry immediately ran out of bounds to stop the clock. The ball was spotted on the four-yard line and LeMasters hit Saldivar again, who scampered into the end zone for the Napa score. Fowler’s kick was good and with four seconds remaining, Napa finished the half with a 29-0 lead.

The start of the third quarter brought some excitement as Piner got on the board when they ran back the opening kick off on a 92-yard return play. The PAT kick was good and Piner kept Napa from tallying the shutout. Three minutes later, the Prospectors found the end zone again on a rushing touchdown, closing the gap 29-14 with the PAT conversion.

The Indians responded with scores of their own and Piner just couldn’t match up to the Indians squad. Napa scored four more times in the contest, on Frasier’s touchdown reception and run, and two rushing touchdowns from Fowler, while the Prospectors could only manage one more score in the game, giving the match up its final of 56-21.

“This is a good win for us,” Napa head coach Jerry Dunlap said. “Coming out of this without injuries is key, but we also fought through all the heat to play pretty well.”

And with his entire squad making contributions in the victory, Napa looks to take the same concept into their next game.

“This was a good game to get us ready for a very physical and very fast Vallejo team next week,” Dunlap said.

Napa returns home to Memorial Stadium next week to take on the Vallejo Apaches. Kick off is at 7:30.

Junior Varsity

* Napa 38, Piner 12

“Adam Timmons, Dustin Alves and Jake Croxdale all ran the ball well for us today,” head coach Wayne Harbison said. “The O-line, led by Robbie Steen and Sal Rivera, really stepped up for us. Our defensive unit, including Marco Garcia, Kamalani Keiliikoa and Andrew Pieper, also played well.”

JV kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, also against Vallejo.

Salesian squashes St. Helena Saints

The St. Helena Saints struggled in their season opener against Salesian High School Saturday afternoon, losing 31-7 in Richmond. With only an eighteen-man roster, the Saints were up against a very physical Salesian squad.

“We just weren’t ready for them to be that physical,” head coach Ian Mac Millan said. “When you face a team that physical, you need to play that physical as well and we had short bursts of aggressiveness, but we need to play that way consistently for four quarters.”

The Saints got off to rocky start when Salesian moved the ball down field on a 51-yard run with 9:51 left in the first quarter. This was the start of an offensive strike by the Chieftains that didn’t end until the final tick of the clock in the fourth quarter.

St. Helena tried to get their own offense going but quarterback Luke McMullen had little time to get plays off and was constantly under pressure from the Salesian defense. The Chieftains applied pressure in all the right spots, as their offense got back on the field later in the first quarter and scored another touchdown to go up 14-0 heading into the second quarter.

It was the Salesian running game that dominated the clock with just the right amount of a passing attack that kept the Saints off balance all afternoon. With a running tandem of quarterback David Singleton and Jahvid Best, the Chieftains had 235 yards of total offense in the first half alone, 129 of those yards coming in the form of Best rushing plays.

St. Helena did find an offensive rhythm late in the first half when McMullen broke free for a 54 yard run, putting the ball on the Salesian 30-yard line. A fifteen yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Salesian brought the ball to the fifteen yard line. McMullen capitalized on the penalty, finding Jake Holguin in the end zone for the fifteen yard score and with a PAT kick from Joey Vinetari, the Saints closed the gap to two scores, 21-7. Not to be outdone, Salesian ended the half on a 47-yard field goal from kicker Jake Haskell, ending the first half 24-7.

Still, the young St. Helena team was no match for the pounding offense of the Chieftains, who put up another score in the third quarter when Best scampered into the end zone on a 22-yard quarterback draw, putting Salesian up 31-7.

St. Helena tried to stage one more final effort to move the football when the Chieftains fumbled on the Saints 2-yard line. Eddie McMullen recovered the fumble for St. Helena and Luke McMullen followed with a pass reception to Isiah Depina, worth of a first down and putting the ball on their own 18-yard line.

Luke McMullen dropped back to pass again with 4:23 remaining in the contest and found Holguin again, good for thirty yards and an additional fifteen were awarded on pass interference call. McMullen continued to try and make something happen, but the Salesian defense stifled the next three passing attempts and took over on downs to end the game.

“We went into the game knowing they were faster than us, but we weren’t exploding off the ball and sustaining blocks like we had been in practice,” Mac Millan said. “We were reverting to bad habits. We need to play with aggressiveness and be physical consistently for four quarters.”