With a field goal before halftime, the Point Loma Pointers went to the locker room with a 17-14 lead but couldn’t hold it as they dropped their Homecoming game to undefeated Rancho Bernardo 37-17.
The game opened with one of the most bizarre 26 seconds seen in local prep football.
The Pointers (1-2) drew first blood on their second drive of the game where a roughing the passer penalty on the Broncos and a 40-yard pass completion from Ryder Watson to Romeo Carter set up a touchdown pass. Watson hit Drew Weim for a 7-0 lead with 3:24 left in the first period.
That thrill lasted all of 14 seconds as Bronco Silas Christiansen ran the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown. A two-point conversion failed, leaving the Pointers ahead 7-6.
Then, just seconds later, the Bronco kickoff bounced off a Pointer player and into the hands of teammate Caden Williams who raced to the end zone for a Pointer touchdown. With the PAT, the Pointers jumped to a 14-6 lead with 2:58 left in the opening quarter.
But the Broncos came right back, scoring on their next possession with a two-point conversion to tie the game at 14.
Before the break, Ryan Cleator’s field goal gave him five points for the game as the teams went to the break.
The Broncos scored again after the break to take their first lead of the game at 22-14.
From that point, the Pointers tackling skills partially weakened and the Broncos took advantage, scoring 15 additional unanswered points to make the final score appear lopsided.
A fourth-quarter Pointer scoring threat vaporized when a pass into the end zone was intercepted by the Broncos.
Senior offensive lineman Yashir (“Yaya”) Yanez is listed at 5 feet 8 inches tall and 205 pounds but is a team captain and vocal leader who continually urges his teammates to give their all.
“I think we came out sprinting,” Yanez said, “And I think it died down during halftime. I think we trusted ourselves too much and let our feet off the gas. Sloppy plays, sloppy everything and I think that led to our loss. Honestly, it’s heartbreaking to see a play where one person doesn’t go 100 percent, maybe goes 80 or 85. It’s those things we need to fix. But we’re going to come back tomorrow, bright and early, and fix everything so we’ll be back in two weeks to take down Eastlake.”
Head coach Ryan Price said: “That was tough. It was a tale of two halves. They made adjustments, made us tackle a running quarterback, we couldn’t make the open-field tackles when we needed to. Our offense was struggling to get it going, kind of like a snowball effect in the second half. It’s a big learning moment for a young team when you’re up in a game like that to not get complacent and keep the momentum in your favor because a team like (the Broncos) is physical and well-coached and they’re going to keep pushing and not give up. Learning moments for our team and a big opportunity to grow.”
In a rare scheduling move, the Pointers traveled to Eastlake for a game on Sept. 19. Next up is
a Sept. 27 visit to Steele Canyon’s Cougars and the Western League opener at Madison on Oct. 4.
EXTRA POINTS
The JV Pointers are 2-1 after a 26-14 win over the Broncos. The freshman team is also 2-1 after a 26-7 loss to the Broncos.
The Pointers spent their bye week working to fine-tune their offense and defense while allowing several injured players to work on clearance to resume play.
After three home games to start the season, the Pointers won’t be on Bennie Edens Field until Oct. 18 (St. Augustine) and Nov. 1 (Cathedral Catholic).
