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Grande gridiron report, 9/13/11

Published: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 11:08 AM MST

Ed Petruska, Sports Editor

Sports Editor Ed Petruska reviews last week’s Vista Grande-Casa Grande Union football game

Vista Grande’s 24-21 overtime victory over Casa Grande Union on Friday night capped a perfect week for the Spartans, who also prevailed in the freshman and junior varsity contests.

“Any time you can take all three games, it’s a program-builder,” Vista Grande coach Carlo Hernandez said.

In just their second year of varsity play, the Spartans (2-1) won the inaugural matchup between sister schools by making a couple of big plays and keeping the Cougars (0-3) in check when it mattered most. CG Union had a 59-42 advantage in total offensive plays, but Vista Grande racked up 249 total yards to 212 for the Cougars.

Matthew Leija’s 26-yard fumble return touchdown that resulted from Ghaleb Al-Saleh’s sack and a 78-yard TD pass from Levi Durnil to Austin Myers powered the Spartans to a 12-3 halftime lead.

The TD pass came on the first play after a 67-minute lightning delay and put Vista Grande up 12-0.

The long break allowed the Spartans coaching staff to discuss in detail how the Cougars were committed to keeping close tabs on VG playmaker Daniel Robbins.

“We noticed their safety was always going to Daniel’s side,” Hernandez said.

Coming out of the delay, “we thought it was a great time to take a shot. It was a great throw by Levi and a great catch and run by Austin,” he said.

That pass accounted for nearly all of Vista Grande’s 104 first-half yards and its lone first down. The Spartans netted just 26 yards on their other 12 plays.

CG Union had the ball for 32 plays in the first half, but gained only 92 yards. The Cougars were kept out of the end zone despite starting two drives inside Vista Grande territory and two at midfield.

“As I look back, that would have been real key if we could have scored,” Union coach Keith Brown said. “Momentum is a big thing in any game, and (scoring) definitely would have given us some momentum.”

Two drives ended on downs after seven plays — at the VG 21 and the VG 23. The fumble came on the Cougars’ second series, and they went three and out after starting at the 50.

“For them to have the ball that much, our defense did a great job of not letting them in the end zone,” Hernandez said.

Taylor Walton’s 27-yard field goal finally put CG Union on the board later in the second quarter. The Cougars then caught fire, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions of the third.

The first drive covered 39 yards in eight plays after Sharice Loggins blocked a punt. The second ended on the fourth play with James Colbert chucking a 41-yard option pass to Tramel Jones. When Colbert ran for the two-point conversion, the score stood at 18-18 heading into the fourth quarter.

“I felt good about where we were, and even when we were down we stuck to our game plan,” Brown said. “We played the way we wanted to play. What I didn’t plan on was falling behind by 12 points when we were controlling a lot of aspects of the game.”

Each team had a scoring chance in the fourth quarter. Vista Grande reached the Union 9-yard line, but was pushed back when Terrance Silas and Jack Miller combined for a 14-yard sack. A fourth-down pass from the 27 fell incomplete in the end zone. The Cougars reached the VG 35 on the ensuing series, which ended at the VG 41 with Deon Blackshear’s fourth-down interception — Union’s third turnover of the game.

Only 10.6 seconds remained in regulation, and the Spartans took a knee after two incomplete passes.

CG Union had the ball first in overtime, and lost a yard on a first-down pass. Then came runs of 1 and 2 yards before Walton booted a 25-yard field goal to give the Cougars their first lead.

Vista Grande’s first-down play was Brandon Ortega’s 7-yard run. Needing to advance just 3 more yards for the winning touchdown, Hernandez decided then and there to go with quarterback sneaks for the next three plays.

It took only two, with Durnil powering across from the 1 to send Vista Grande’s players, coaches and fans into joyous delirium.

“To see the ref throw his hands up — it was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had outside of (winning two) state championships” while he was head coach at Coolidge, Hernandez said. “Being that (CG Union) is my alma mater, it meant a lot to me, more than I let on” prior to the game.

Brown said the Cougars will forge ahead. Their next two games are against Division V opponents — at Valley Christian on Friday and at home against Santa Cruz the following week.

“We have a lot of heart and character on this team, and when you have that good things can happen,” Brown said. “We’re getting closer and closer. It’ll happen. When you have kids that care, that have character and heart, they’ll keep fighting.”

Vista Grande had seven plays of 10 yards or longer, one more than the Cougars. The Spartans kept a fairly tight lid on Colbert, holding him to 5 yards or less on 17 of his 26 carries, even though Colbert surpassed 100 yards rushing (120) for the third time in three games.

Robbins touched the ball only twice for the Spartans (9 yards rushing on two attempts).

“But he had a direct effect on the game,” Hernandez said. CG Union “had two to four guys on his side on every play, and were determined to make someone other than Daniel Robbins beat us. When they moved guys out of the box, it allowed us to run up the middle.”

ODDS & ENDS ­— The Spartans gained 159 yards on 31 runs, a 5.1 average. The Cougars netted 151 rushing yards on 49 attempts, a 3.1 average. ... Vista Grande overcame 10 penalties for 125 yards. The Spartans were flagged for five 15-yarders and had two holding calls that resulted in losses of 19 and 16 yards. CG Union was penalized three times for 30 yards. ... The Cougars were 4 for 15 on third-down conversions and 2 for 5 on fourth down. The Spartans were 3 for 11 on third down and 2 for 3 on fourth down. ... CG Union had 11 first downs and Vista Grande had seven.

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