Varsity Warriors lose in shootout

On Friday, August 31, the varsity Fallbrook Warriors played their very first game on the brand new artificial turf. The Warriors were host to the Point Loma Pointers in their first non-league game.

Though the Warrior defense played well, the offense could not take advantage of many chances, so the Warriors lost the game 11-7.

The game was supported by a large crowd ready to see the first varsity game ever played on the new turf.

Mathew Napier, Andre Gonzalvez and TJ Sumpter represented the team as captains as the Warriors got set to receive the ball. The first drive was led by quarterback Saber Youman. Despite completing two passes and catching the Pointers offside, a sack led to the first punt, which gave the ball to the Pointers.

The defense stalled Point Loma and forced them to punt. On assuming possession, the Warriors lost 15 yards with a sack and run and sat on their own six yard line. They were forced to punt, but a bad snap led Rogelio Zamudio to the right decision of kicking the ball out of the end zone, scoring the Pointers a safety.

The score was now Point Loma 2, Warriors 0. On Point Loma’s next possession, the Warriors were driven down to their own goal line but had a wonderful goal line stand which gave the ball to the Warriors at their own three yard line.

The Fallbrook offense went down the length of the field led by a pass from Youman to Marquis Sumpter for 20 yards, a few third down scrambles by Youman to get first downs and mental mistakes by Point Loma. The Warriors made it to the Point Loma 23 yard line but lost the ball when they could not convert on fourth down and four.

The next defensive series was led by a great sack by Lyle Ducker and another stop to give the Warriors one more chance to get on the board before halftime. The Warriors did not convert and were forced to punt again as time expired, leaving the score Point Loma 2, Warriors 0.

Fallbrook kicked off to begin the second half as Joe Burke, Jake Ware and Andrew Valencia had great tackles to stop the Pointers once again. After a punt to the four yard line, the Warriors took over on offense.

The first play of the possession had Michael Leonard being tripped up at the line and falling in the end zone, leading to another safety. The score was now Point Loma 4, Fallbrook 0 as Point Loma got the ball back.

The defense of the Warriors once again stopped the run as Ducker had two tackles and the Pointers punted it to Fallbrook player TJ Sumpter, who returned the punt 38 yards to Point Loma territory.

The good field position led to a wonderful pass from Leonard to Nick Hayes for 44 yards and a touchdown. This touchdown was the first varsity touchdown on the new field.

After an extra point the Warriors took the lead by the score of Warriors 7, Point Loma 4. The Point Loma offense took the field and had a long drive down the field taking time off the clock as well.

Despite some great plays by Valencia, Burke and Jeff Hecht, the Pointers went all the way down the field for a touchdown. The touchdown came on a QB keeper, which made the score Point Loma 11, Fallbrook 7.

The Warriors received the ball off the kickoff and Marquis Sumpter returned the ball 30 yards to their own 33 yard line. This possession included a long run called back for holding and a delay of game, which forced the Warriors to punt once again.

The Fallbrook defense again played well, as they stopped the run and forced the Pointers to punt yet again. The punt was returned 20 yards by TJ Sumpter, but the Warrior offense could not control the Pointers’ defensive rush. Leonard was sacked once and under constant pressure which forced Fallbrook to send out Zamudio to punt the ball away.

The game was looking like it was over until Ware got into the backfield and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Ducker. The Warriors had a final chance to score with 2:20 left on the clock in the fourth quarter. However, pressure was placed on Youman as he threw an interception to Point Loma. Point Loma then ran the clock out. The Warriors lost in a shootout by the score of 11-7.

The game had some great defensive play, yet both teams did not play as well as they could have. Mental mistakes and not taking advantage of opportunities caused the Warriors to lose the game.

Though the game was rough and looked like a first game of the season, there was evidence of great efforts and potential on both sides of the ball. The defensive team was the standout of the game led by outside linebacker Valencia (10 tackles) and Ducker (1 sack, 3 tackles and recovery of fumble).

Besides a disappointing varsity loss, the freshman and junior varsity teams won their games. Both teams are coached by Greg Madden and practice together daily. The teams both defeated Point Loma by large margins.

The freshmen, who played on Thursday in Point Loma, defeated the Pointers by a score of 17-0. Junior varsity, the first team to play on the new field, defeated Point Loma 23-12. JV had outstanding play by both sides of the ball as the defense and offense scored touchdowns.

JV player Kyle Volan was the lucky person to score the first touchdown ever on the turf after he recovered and returned a fumble.

2007-2008 Fallbrook Warriors Varsity Football

September 6 Santa Fe Christian at Fallbrook

September 14 Temecula Valley at Fallbrook (special time: 7 p.m.)

September 21

September 28 At Poway

October 5 Ranch Bernardo at Fallbrook (Homecoming)

October 12 At RBV

October 19 At Vista

October 26 Oceanside at Fallbrook

November 2 El Camino at Fallbrook (Senior Night)

November 9 At Carlsbad

• With the exception of September 14, all games begin at 7:30 p.m.

• Freshmen usually play on Thursday and generally play the opposite location of varsity

• Junior varsity normally plays at 5 p.m. on Friday before the varsity game (except the week of September 14, which they will play on Thursday)