The Santa Rosa Academy Rangers crushed the Nuview Knights 42-0 in Friday’s shutout game.
The game started with our team coming out of the gates swinging, and on the 2nd play Junior Dominic Vicente Thomas (#20) rushed for 65 yards, and the first touchdown of the night. The Rangers did not let off the gas and less than 2 minutes later, Seniors Daniel Marlow (#10) and Brenden Quesada (#11) each picked up a touchdown. The Rangers kept on dominating, leading 42-0 at the beginning of the second quarter. Then, the starters were pulled and secondary players went in for their playing period. The main goal of the secondary defense was to make sure Nuview didn’t score, and they did just that. The only close call occurred in the early 4th quarter. The Knights were first and goal after a 40-yard pass down the field, and proceeded to get shut down on the first 3 attempts. Now, being 4th and goal on the 5-yard line, the Knights tried to run the ball. Senior Linebacker James Johnson (#19) saw this and went in for the tackle, putting an end to Nuview’s drive. The defensive line was very explosive, resulting in multiple sacks. Our game’s highlight was sophomore Ryan Peterson (#61) stripping the ball from the opposing quarterback’s hands, and returning it for a touchdown.
Peterson attributes this to, “getting pushed past our breaking point in Tuesday’s practice. It was a real wake-up call to how hard we can hit.” Assistant Coach Thralls added, “Everyone’s dream as a kid was to scoop the ball up and score a touchdown, and Ryan made it happen.” The Rangers capped the night off with 111 passing yards, and 276 rushing yards, which is the most they have had in almost a year. Following this, the Rangers are ready to get back to work in preparation for their next opponent, the Kearny Komets, who they will travel down to San Diego to face off against on September 13th at 7 PM. The Komets are currently 2-1 after defeating the Rock Academy Warriors, 49-9. This away game will be a battle until the very end and will be a major test for the Rangers, but they plan to bring home another victory for our school. The Rangers are eager to extend their win streak to 3 and prove once and for all that the San Diego Section is not better than the Southern Section.
