Varsity Game Results - November 27, 2009

Vaca football falls to Pleasant Grove

By Tim Roe
Posted: 11/28/2009 01:00:39 AM PST

Having the wind at your back in the fourth quarter is supposed to be advantageous.

Vacaville High School's football team could have pointed to a number of reasons why its season came to an end in a 38-28 loss to Pleasant Grove Friday night at Tom Zunino Stadium.

But the most glaring mishap for the Bulldogs involved the stiff wind ... and a kickoff that that turned into a 34-yard onside kick for the visitors.

Pleasant Grove scored to take the lead for good with 8:04 left, but the Bulldogs appeared ready to march down the field again in the back-and-forth game that was tied four times.

That was before Marcus White's kickoff died into a gale and fell right in the middle of four Vacaville players at the Bulldog 26-yard line.

Pleasant Grove's Scott Beebe fell on the ball with virtually nobody near, and the Eagles kicked a game-clinching field goal seven plays later in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I quarterfinal matchup.

"We had just a couple of really key things that went wrong, and you can't do that against a great team," said Vacaville head coach Mike Papadopoulos, whose squad ended its banner season at 10-2.

Vacaville also had a touchdown that was called back because of a penalty, and two dropped passes that would have been certain touchdowns. But the see-saw affair hinged on the game's only turnover.

"We knew it was going to come down to something like that," Papadopoulos said. "It just turned out that it went against us." White's 28-yard field goal with 3:42 left may have traveled farther than the previous kickoff.

White nearly got the ball back for the Eagles with another pop-up. But Vacaville finally secured the ball and marched 59 yards before Irwin's fourth-down pass from the Eagles' 15 fell incomplete in the end zone with 54 seconds left.

The tough finish ruined a standout game by Vacaville's Jimmy Hines, who pounded out 255 rushing yards on 35 carries, and turned a screen pass into a 69-yard touchdown that lifted the Bulldogs to a 28-28 tie with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

But Vacaville's lone drive for the lead stalled after 11 plays, and Pleasant Grove (9-3) marched 66 yards to take the lead for good on a 2-yard run by Mark Jenkins.

Jalen Saunders added 290 all-purpose yards, including an 85-yard return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff.

Vacaville's Quincy Forte added 109 rushing yards, including a 7-yard scoring run. Hudson Buck chipped in 40 yards rushing, including TD runs of nine and seven yards.

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