Varsity Warriors fall to Del Norte, 29-21; JV wins 34-21

Although Fallbrook High School’s football team closed its regular season with a 29-21 loss November 7 at Del Norte High School, the Warriors still received the fourth seed in the CIF Division III playoffs and will host Granite Hills in tomorrow’s quarterfinal match.

The loss to Del Norte finalized Fallbrook’s regular-season record at 7-3, including a 4-0 Valley League figure which gave the Warriors their first unshared league championship since 2000. Fallbrook earned a first-round playoff bye; fifth-seeded Granite Hills defeated twelfth-seeded Patrick Henry by a 55-28 score in those teams’ November 14 first-round match.

“Once you get to the second round of the playoffs everyone is extremely good,” said Fallbrook head coach Kyle Williams. “To even have a chance to win we need to make sure that we’re at our best and we need to eliminate some of the mental mistakes.”

The game at Del Norte was tied at 14 points apiece before four consecutive plays unfavorable to the Warriors gave the Nighthawks a 29-14 lead with just over five minutes remaining.“We need to make sure we eliminate those errors,” Williams said.

Del Norte ended its regular season with a 5-5 record after the victory against Fallbrook, and the Nighthawks were given the ninth seed in the Division II playoffs. The non-league game between Fallbrook and Del Norte involved playoff seeding for the Warriors while the Nighthawks had post-season selection itself at stake along with seeding.

“We tried to treat this game like a playoff game,” Williams said. “We knew it should be a close game, so we challenged our kids all week to treat it like a playoff game.”

During each of Del Norte’s first three possessions, the Nighthawks failed to make a first down after three plays and were forced to punt. Fallbrook’s defense held Del Norte to a total of eight yards during those nine plays. “Our defense started out strong. Unfortunately our offense did struggle a little bit to start the game,” Williams said.

Fallbrook held the Nighthawks to one yard on their first three plays. Fallbrook’s offense fared even worse after the punt; on third and five the Warriors fumbled the ball on their own 25-yard-line and Del Norte recovered.

The Nighthawks gained eight yards on the two plays following the fumble recovery, but on third down two yards shy of the first down Nathan Montgomery and Andy Iniesta tackled the running back in the backfield. Del Norte attempted a 37-yard field goal, but Roberto Ramirez blocked the kick and Sierra Arteaga then recovered the ball and returned it 15 yards to the Fallbrook 44.

The Warriors gained two yards on two plays to create third down with eight yards to go for a first down. Landon Benner then passed to Isaac Maxwell for 25 yards and the first down. Six plays later Parker Roberson was successful on a 34-yard field goal attempt, and the 3-0 score remained for the rest of the first quarter.

On Fallbrook’s third possession the Warriors failed to obtain a first down. Ramirez had a 27-yard run from the Fallbrook 38 to the Del Norte 35, but the gain was called back due to a holding penalty.

Del Norte’s fourth possession was a ten-play, 64-yard touchdown drive. A 30-yard run up the middle gave the Nighthawks first and goal at the Fallbrook 8. When Del Norte was faced with third and goal from the 15 the Warriors sacked the quarterback at the 28-yard-line, but a facemask call against Fallbrook advanced the ball to the 14. On the next play the Nighthawks executed a 14-yard touchdown pass, and the kick for the extra point made the score 7-3.

The Warriors approached midfield on their next possession before being stopped. Fallbrook lined up as if the Warriors were seeking a first down, but the football was snapped to Ramirez who punted the ball past an unsuspecting Del Norte defense. The 54-yard punt was downed at the 1-yard-line. “We had them pinned,” Williams said.

The Nighthawks had to punt from their own 10, and that kick was shanked. Fallbrook took possession at the Del Norte 38. An 18-yard pass from Benner to Iniesta highlighted a 28-yard drive when concluded with Roberson’s 26-yard field goal.

Del Norte followed with an 11-play, 80-yard drive which concluded with a 22-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining in the half. The extra point gave the Nighthawks a 14-6 advantage.

“In the first half our offensive line was physically dominated by their defensive line,” Williams said.

The third quarter was scoreless. Fallbrook initiated the fourth-quarter scoring with a 17-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. The Warriors had fourth down eight yards short of a first down on the Del Norte 13 before sending Ramirez to the right for the 13-yard touchdown. “Fourteen to nine wouldn’t have been a bad score, but we also felt like we had a play that was working for us,” Williams said of the choice to advance the ball rather than seek a field goal.

Ramirez and his teammates executed the same play for the two-point conversion attempt, tying the score at 14-14 with ten minutes remaining. “At that point we felt we had them right where we wanted them,” Williams said.

Fallbrook had overcome two previous fourth-quarter deficits during the season. “Sometimes it just takes us a while to be able to wear them down,” Williams said.

“We felt like our offense was going to really start to catch fire,” Williams said. “We felt like it was going to happen for us again, but unfortunately we had a series of bad plays.”

Del Norte was stopped on the Nighthawks’ possession following the game-tying touchdown, and after the punt the Warriors had the ball at their own 45. Two plays later Benner threw an interception, giving the Nighthawks the ball on their own 15. “We quickly gave the ball back to them, and that gave them a little bit of momentum,” Williams said.

“I elected to try to put the pressure on them. We had some success pressuring the quarterback,” Williams said. “Unfortunately we had a little bit of a missed assignment and blown coverage.”

The Nighthawks executed a pass to their running back, who was wide open in the middle of the field and continued untouched for a 52-yard touchdown. A bad snap on the extra point attempt made a successful kick unlikely. “Their only option at that point was to try to throw the ball in the end zone,” Williams said. “They were able to connect with the tight end.”

The ball went through the hands of two Fallbrook defenders before the tight end caught the pass for a two-point conversion and a 22-14 Del Norte lead with just over five minutes left.

Del Norte had a more successful planned kicking play on the ensuing kickoff. “Their kid kicked a ball that was very difficult to handle,” Williams said.

Fallbrook’s receiver muffed the ball, which then went out of bounds at the 1-yard-line. “We knew we had to score,” Williams said.

The scoring on the next play was a Del Norte touchdown. Benner’s handoff was fumbled in the end zone and the Nighthawks recovered. This time the kick for the point after went as Del Norte planned to make the score 29-14.

“We lost control of it very quickly,” Williams said of the touchdown pass, two-point conversion, muffed kickoff return, and fumble on consecutive plays.

Williams told his players to take the rest of the game one play at a time with the goal of scoring first before trying an onside kick. “Eventually that’s what happened,” he said.

That didn’t happen immediately. The Warriors were stopped on fourth down with three yards to go for a first down on their own 39. “Once again our defense came up strong,” Williams said.

The Fallbrook defense held the Nighthawks to three plays without a first down, forcing a punt. The Warriors had possession on their own 11 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. A 14-play drive gained the 89 yards needed for a touchdown which occurred when Benner passed to Ramirez for the final 18 yards. Benner completed four of six passes for 59 yards on the drive. Roberson’s kick made the score 29-21 with 11 seconds left on the clock.

Roberson’s onside kick traveled the necessary ten yards and Fallbrook recovered. Although two of the officials felt that the Warriors recovered legitimately, the side judge claimed that Fallbrook illegally touched the ball before it traveled ten yards and possession was given to Del Norte. “It was unfortunate,” Williams said.

Del Norte downed the ball on the next play to end the game. “When we felt we took control of the game we just didn’t put them away,” Williams said.

Williams noted that the team would use the loss to Del Norte as a learning experience. “As long as we learn from it, nothing’s lost,” he said.