Sports Briefs: Tam rally falls short against Casa Crande
Tam High was fueled up for a late comeback bid Thursday night, trailing by four points, with 1 minute, 30 seconds to play and 86 yards to go. The Red-tailed Hawks’ hopes of upsetting host Casa Grande came up short, however, in a 14-10 loss.
Tam quarterback Reed Edwards, starting the draive at the Hawks’ on their own 14 yard line, drove 14 yards to get the comeback attempt rolling. The rally ended almost as quickly, however, when Gauchos linebacker Max Drumm picked off a long pass on fourth-and-10 to lock up the win.
Edwards kept the ball moving against the Gauchos as he completed eight passes for 117 yards and had another 75 yards on eight carries. Timo Ural gave the Gauchos fits on both sides of the ball, with four big catches for 72 yards and an interception.
Ethan Koo collected six tackles and a sack for Tam, while Wyatt Leach led the defense with 15 tackles. John Welborn had a big night with 11 tackles, four quarterback hurries and two tackles for loss. Tam also got big defensive efforts from Gus Beyer (10 tackles), Aidan Dodge (seven tackles, a sack0 and Jake Butler (seven tackles, four hurries).
“The game plan was to slow down (Casa Grande quarterback Danny Mercado) by any means necessary,” Tam head coach Anthony Mejia said. “We had some success getting pressure in his face. To hold that offense to 14, our defense played (hard) and gave our offense every shot.”
Casa Grande (6-2, 4-0 league) needed Thursday’s win as the Gauchos prepare for next week’s matchup with American Canyon (7-0, 3-0), which could determine the Redwood Empire Valley title.
Tam (2-6, 2-2 Valley) had a chance to mix up the title talk with a win. The Hawks, who finish the season with home games against Petaluma and Napa, are now fighting for third place.
Gauchos quarterback Danny Mercado targeted Brady Laubscher for a 31-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter for the only scoring of the first half. Tam got on the board with a safety by senior Jacob Butler in the third quarter.
Tam took a 10-7 lead at the start of the fourth quarter after Timo Ural’s 25-yard reception set up the Hawks at the Gauchos’ 2 yard line. Running back Ethan Koo then hammered the ball across the line for the touchdown, and Octavien Green caught the two-point conversion pass.
Casa Grande, with junior Joey Cerda behind center in place of Mercado, took a 14-10 lead with a 25-yard scoring strike to Laubscher with 8:14 left in the fourth.