Wyciah Babino is pictured as he scored a touchdown for MCHS during the JV game. Photos by Amanda White
It was a night to remember as Mariposa County High School celebrated homecoming and Alumni Night when Grizzlies football hosted Denair at the Gold Bowl on Oct. 10.
The night began with the JV team dominating the Coyotes 41-14.
Before the start of the varsity game, the homecoming court rode into the Gold Bowl in style as several classic cars drove into the arena.
Freshmen class royalty included Cooper Wight and Aiyanna Sandoval.
Representing the sophomores were Ez Weiland and Jade Lust.
The junior class royalty included Rusty Bull and Adelina Garcia.
The senior court was represented by eight seniors: Paisley Allison, Mason Sinclair, Xavier Dacanay, Clementine DiMorente, Mason Bissmeyer, Kaiah Bassett, Hayden Hill and Kaia Ramirez.
Winning senior class king and queen were Dacanay and DiMorente.
After the king and queen were crowned, the varsity teams played a game that people are going to remember for a long time.
Both teams battled and as the Grizzlies held the lead for most of the game, Denair tied it to send the game into overtime.
Homecoming king and queen Xavier Dacanay and Clementine DiMorente are shown.
After an absolute nail biter, MCHS squeaked by and grabbed the win by just one point.
The final score was 24-23.
“That game was a battle,” said coach Chase Pometta.
“Friday was a day these boys will never forget.”
As MCHS was celebrating Alumni Night, Grizzlies past and present were down near the field for a front row seat to the show.
“We talk all the time about community and representing our community in everything we do,” Pometta said.
“Our players got to spend time with 50-plus alumni during our pregame meal and then had 100-plus alumni at the game. That led to a great atmosphere and it’s definitely an adrenaline boost for our guys.”
With just 39 seconds left in the first quarter, Rusty Bull scored the first touchdown of the night after receiving a handoff from quarterback Austin Battles.
Alumni are shown as they gathered on the field to honor past and present Grizzlies as well as Ed Vegely and J.C. McNally.
Denair answered and got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter with a touchdown.
Battles and Bull capitalized again with the same play that earned them the first touchdown.
Jhovany Marquez was able to get the extra point on both of the Grizzlies touchdowns.
The score was 14-6 at halftime, where the halftime show was all about MCHS alumni. The cheer squad was escorted to the field for their performance by alumni cheerleaders who had walked this same path many times before them.
After the performance, the rest of the alumni present gathered on the field to honor past and present Grizzlies, as well as prominent community members Ed Vegely and JC McNally who passed away earlier this year.
“Tonight is a very special occasion for us,” said Trace DeSandres. “Tonight we recognize alumni from 1965 through 2020.”
DeSandres explained Mariposa won the first Southern League championship 60 years ago under coach Vegely.
“Vegely’s 1975 team defeated the undefeated and number one ranked Central Catholic,”
Freshmen royalty Cooper Wight and Aiyanna Sandoval are pictured riding into the Gold Bowl with the cheer squad during homecoming. The group is riding in a 1965 Chevy driven by Mark Harris.
Thirty years ago, under Bruce Vegely, Mariposa won their first ever section championship.
“Twenty years ago, under coach J.C. McNally, Mariposa went 10-2,” DeSandres explained.
“McNally coached for many years and we miss him very much.”
Ed Vegely coached 17 years of Grizzly football.
“I can’t tell you how much we miss him.”
After a moment of silence in honor of McNally and Ed Vegely, the game resumed.
The Grizzlies scored a field goal in the third quarter and Denair answered with another touchdown.
The Coyotes tied it at 17-17 in the fourth quarter with a field goal, forcing overtime.
MCHS scored first in overtime as Bull scored his third touchdown of the night and the extra point was good from Marquez.
Denair wasn’t going down without a fight as they answered with a touchdown.
Just as it looked as if there might be an upset, the Grizzlies stopped the Coyotes from a two-point conversion and won the game 24-23.
Austin Battles hands off to Rusty Bull, who scored three touchdowns for the Grizzlies against Denair.
Carmine Sandoval made some big plays on special teams and on defense.
“He has made some big plays for us,” the coach said.
“Those hustle plays are huge for momentum, always gets our sideline fired up.”
Connor Filgas, Mason Bissmeyer, Bull, Laten Butler and Lyell Marcis all came up with big plays on defense.
“Our defensive coaches reinforced the idea of being patient and sticking with the assignment and we saw that play out on the field,” continued Pometta.
“We played team defense and trusted each other and came out on top.”
The Grizzly offense continues to shine.
“Denair is big and physical, and we were able to control the line of scrimmage and protect our quarterback,” Pometta said.
“Colton Wilha came up with a couple clutch catches. Austin Battles did a great job of keeping the play alive and making something happen down field. Rusty (Bull) ran hard all night, he’s a tough runner.”
MCHS remains undefeated in league with a record of 3-0 and an overall record of 7-0.
“We’re very proud of our team and our resiliency, that was a big night for our program and our community,” said Pometta.
“It’s something our guys will never forget. We hope to make alumni night an annual tradition and it was great to get everyone together.”
The Grizzlies aim to keep the momentum going as they take on Stone Ridge Christian (3-1) in Merced on Oct. 17.
JV is up first at 5 p.m. followed by varsity at 7:15.
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