Football: Wilcox bounces back on the road, topples Palo Alto
“You can’t always control the outcome, sometimes things don’t just bounce your way — literally.”
PALO ALTO — “Drop to the ground and give me 20!”
No one actually needed to tell Wilcox senior Isaiah Flores for that many push-ups after Friday night’s 26-15 victory at Palo Alto.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound fullback took responsibility for a pair of fumbles at the mouth of the goal line in each half. Paly recovered the first fumble for a touchback. Wilcox tight end Michael Fiaui dove to fall on top of the eventual game-winning touchdown in the end zone with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
“I mean, it would’ve been a second time, so I love that guy to the death,” Flores said. “He really saved us right there.”
In a clash of contenders for the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division title, Wilcox (3-2, 1-0) stuck to the ground, while Paly (3-2, 0-1) went to the air.
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The contrast in styles resulted in the host Vikings enjoying a 15-10 edge at halftime, even though the Chargers ran more than twice as many plays going into the locker room.
Paly wide receiver Junacio Henley, who finished with six catches for 119 yards and also picked off a pass, streaked behind the secondary for a 71-yard touchdown on the second snap of the game. With 5:45 left in the second half, Fresno State commit Jamir Shepard caught a wide receiver screen, eluded a tackle and turned on the afterburners for a 68-yard TD.
Sophomore quarterback Danny Peters, who left the game in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury, was a crisp 9 of 14 for 253 yards at intermission. It was maybe too efficient.
“In some ways it was problematic that we scored so quickly because it kept taxing our defense,” Paly coach Nelson Gifford said. “And against (Wilcox’s) offense, where it kind of sucks the oxygen out of the room, not only are you out of the field for an extended period of time, which kind of takes you out of your rhythm, you feel like you’ve got to get that score.”
“They’re dangerous,” Wilcox coach Paul Rosa said. “They’ve got guys that can go house at any time, and it happened to us a couple of times for us there. I was happily pleased, though, with the way our defense hung in there and didn’t let those plays affect them later in the game.”
Wilcox senior Paul M. Rosa, the coach’s son, provided a 1-2 punch in the backfield after a two-game absence due to a groin injury suffered in practice. He ran it 30 times for 163 yards and an insurance touchdown from 2 yards out with 3:26 left in the game.
“I’m just excited to be back,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to get back ever since I got hurt, but I’m just glad that I could contribute to the win.”
Flores more than held up his part of the bargain, with 27 carries for 177 yards and a 2-yard TD on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter that briefly tied the game.
He refused to take any credit for the combined 407 rushing yards on 69 carries, including 71 yards on keepers by quarterback Geremy McCollough.
“It doesn’t matter who put back there,” Flores said. “As long as our line keeps going, we’re able to push through.”
“We wanted to grind it out and kind of keep the ball out of their hands,” Rosa said. “I think the game plan was good, we just put the ball on the ground, which kept the game tight.”
On the game-changing fumble recovery by Fiaui late in the third quarter, Paly free safety Kevin Cullen hustled to tackle Flores at the 1-yard line, forcing the ball loose in the process.
“He made the play, and that’s the thing that I want to emphasize to the guys,” Gifford said. “When you look back at games like this, it hurts now obviously to lose, but the effort, the energy, the fight, that’s what football is about. You can’t always control the outcome, sometimes things don’t just bounce your way — literally.
“But you can’t be sad about that, you can’t be upset about that.”
The bounce benefited Wilcox, which was coming off a stunning 35-31 loss at Pittsburg the week before. The Chargers host Los Gatos (5-0, 1-0) next week, possibly able to claim a stranglehold of the SCVAL De Anza.
“We’re going to punch them in the face, like we do every team, and hopefully get the win,” Flores said.
“Our league schedule is front-heavy this year,” Rosa said. “We’re going to know right away how it turns out, I think.”