DANVILLE — Dylan Deitsch had no intention of attempting to make a play. The evening was chilly, windy and moist — the right system to muff a punt. Throughout a recreation like this, scoreless deep into the fourth quarter, a fumble might find yourself being the ballgame. So, because the punt wobbled in Deitsch path, the senior was content material to let the ball hit the bottom, roll till its momentum stopped and let his offense go to work.
No less than initially.
That calculus modified when the punt landed on the turf and bounced straight up. The ball beckoned to be grabbed. Deitsch obliged. He discovered a spot. He discovered his blockers. He didn’t discover the tip zone, however he did discover the purple zone. Deitsch didn’t rating the go-ahead, game-winning, fourth-quarter landing — that honor went to working again Sammy Avalos — however the senior’s daring punt return set the desk for San Ramon Valley’s 7-0 win over Cardinal Newman within the NCS Division I semifinal.
“I noticed that ball and I used to be like, ‘This is the play,’” Deitsch said. “It ended up in my hands and we took advantage of it.”
“It’s Dylan Deitsch — you by no means actually know,” Avalos stated. “It doesn’t surprise me that he went out there and made a play. That’s what he does. That’s why we’ve been so successful this year: because of guys like him.”
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For Avalos, his 13-yard landing run represented redemption. Earlier within the fourth quarter, the sport nonetheless scoreless Avalos acquired a dumpoff from quarterback Rhett Thompson and, like Deitsch, discovered a spot and located his blockers. Cardinal Newman, although, discovered the soccer. Avalos fumbled, and the Wolves misplaced its greatest probability to attain on an evening the place these alternatives have been uncommon. Earlier than Avalos reached the sideline, he discovered himself swarmed by a bunch of teammates providing help.
“That just exemplifies what our team is,” Avalos stated. “We’re a family. Everyone in there told me, ‘Get back in there. That plays washed. Keep doing what you’re doing.’ That’s a testament to what our team is and why we win these gritty games.”
Gritty is an apt adjective for a recreation the place San Ramon Valley and Cardinal Newman successfully spent three-and-a-half quarters buying and selling subject place. The Wolves had much more success at shifting the soccer however have been unable to string collectively performs and discover the tip zone.
A lot of San Ramon Valley’s offensive stagnation resulted from the weather. The Wolves cycled in contemporary footballs for nearly each play, however they’d wind up soaked by the point the ball was snapped. The rain, in flip, neutralized San Ramon Valley’s go recreation. Thompson made a number of splash performs underneath the circumstances, specifically a 32-yard completion to receiver Owen Scott, however the Wolves left dozens of yards on the desk.
Within the second quarter, for instance, Thompson delivered an ideal go to a receiver streaking down the sideline. If the ball was caught, San Ramon Valley had a landing. The ball discovered fingers, then the ball discovered grass. The Wolves missed a pair of 39-yard subject objectives as nicely, each makes an attempt having the space however veering huge proper.
Each groups’ lack of ability to attain resulted in creativity on either side. Within the third quarter, San Ramon Valley used linebacker Marco Jones at tight finish. Jones, a Texas A&M commit, caught a game-winning landing earlier within the yr however was unable to haul in a go on Friday. Cardinal Newman referred to as on a fair bolder play, utilizing 6’4″, 293-pound defensive lineman Kahlio Vaetoe out of the shotgun on a “quarterback” maintain.
“It’s hard to prepare for it,” stated head coach Aaron Becker of the rain. “We had some thoughts on what we could try to do, but the game speaks otherwise. You just have to try to roll with what you think can work.”
With Friday’s win, San Ramon Valley will play Pittsburg in a rematch of final yr’s NCS Division I title recreation — a recreation the place the Pirates beat the Wolves, 37-21.
“They have a lot of really good players and they’re going to be hungry,” Becker stated of Pittsburg, which misplaced to De La Salle on Friday within the NCS Open ultimate. “Hopefully our kids rise to the challenge.”
