SLIP SLIDING AWAY

 

Just hours before last Friday night’s heartbreaking loss for the Mariposa County High School football team in the first round of the playoffs, it would have been easier to row a boat on the field than catch a touchdown pass.

Torrents of rain had drenched the area and it took nearly a superhuman effort to get the field into any sort of shape for the biggest game in the last decade for the Grizzlies.

Somehow, that happened and what unfolded over two and a half hours on Friday night in the Gold Bowl at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds will be remembered for ages.

The Grizzlies, 9-1 entering the playoff game against Denair, were hosting a playoff game for the first time in recent memory.

It lived up to its hype but, unfortunately, it was the Coyotes of Denair who held on at the end, stopping bulldog senior running back Laten Butler about 25 yards from a Cinderella finish for the Grizzlies.

As Butler lay on the field with his head in the soggy soil, the Coyotes celebrated a 33-28 road win that advanced them to the next round of the playoffs.

The season ended for the Grizzlies, but for Coach Chase Pometta, the pride of having this special team was on display.

With emotions high (and low), the coach gathered up his troopers and they stood silent listening to their third-year coach tell them they were the ones who inspired him and it will never be forgotten.

“To you younger guys,” he bellowed from the circle of players that surrounded him, “that’s what this program means. That’s what this school means.”

To his hard-working seniors who had suffered through a pair of tough seasons when Pometta took over the program, his voice cracked and his words were powerful.

“Seniors, thank you,” said the coach. “I don’t know what else to say.”

He then said it: “For setting the standard. That standard remains.”

The expectations heading into the season were likely not as high for the public as they were for this team. After two tough seasons, getting to a .500 record would have probably been adequate. But this team excelled, grinding out nine wins, including an earlier one over Denair during Senior Night, and setting up last week’s playoff showdown.

But Mother Nature had a thing or two to say about it, as well.

Torrential rains caused what the coach after the game would say were the most “crazy conditions” he had ever seen.

Mud caked the sidelines just a few feet from the not-so-straight out of bounds chalk lines. It was understandable.

Yet as Pometta also said after the game, “both teams played in it.”

It was the beginning of the game that would eventually lead to the Grizzlies trying to mount a comeback, one that ended with that final play as time expired.

There may have even been a sign before the game started. As the players, coaches, officials, fans and others stood up for the National Anthem, nothing came over the loudspeakers. Everyone waited patiently, some starting cheers for their teams, and still nothing. Mother Nature knows no boundaries.

Then, in an impromptu moment on a soggy night, the fans themselves started singing America’s song. And they sang every word, rival fans in harmony (sort of), displaying their singular love for the nation that allowed them to be there in the first place.

After the unexpected song, the opening whistle blew and, soggy field or not, the game began.

The Grizzlies just couldn’t get much going on their first possession, which ended with a turnover on downs, giving the Coyotes the ball at midfield. A crucial 15-yard pass from quarterback Derek Potter to receiver Harlan Brown on a fourth-and-eight play kept the drive going.

With 1:58 left in the period, Potter again cranked up his arm an found Connor Hart for a 15-yard strike in the end zone and the first points of the game. The point-after was good and Denair led 7-0, which was the score at the end of the quarter.

The Grizzlies just couldn’t get any offense going and by the 8:38 mark of the second quarter, a crucial fourth-down run on a passing down led to a 15-yard gallop by Degan Butler to put the Coyotes on the board once again. The point-after gave Denair a 14-0 lead.

 

The Grizzlies continued to struggle on offense in the latter half of the quarter. But its defense held and Bulter had a nice punt return to the Denair 36-yard-line, setting up the Grizzlies.

It only took one play, and it was Butler again, this time scampering into the end zone on the first play of the drive. The extra point by Jhovany Marquez pulled MCHS to within 14-7.

That’s how the half would end as the players took 20 minutes to regroup with a light drizzle starting to fall at the fairgrounds.

Pometta admitted his team had a hard time stopping the run in the first half where several crucial plays led to first downs instead of changes of possession.

“We made some nice adjustments at halftime,” said Pometta.

Indeed, in the end, the Grizzlies outscored Denair 21-19 in the second half, but came up five points short as their season came to an end.

In fact, at the 6:13 mark in the third quarter, Denair moved the score to 21-7 with a two-yard run by Bryson Salazar and an extra point.

It was then the Grizzlies began their all-out effort for a comeback.

A short kickoff gave MCHS the ball at the 43 and junior running back Rusty Bull took it from there.

Bull started the drive with a nice run of 11 yards and, at the 4:44 mark, he scampered 36 yards along the left side of the muddy field and hit pay dirt, or maybe pay mud, and the point-after had the large home crowd in a frenzy as the gap had been closed to 21-14.

But Denair quieted the crowd on the next drive, capped off by a 17-yard run by Salazar with just :17 left in the third quarter. The Grizzlies blocked the extra-point try and Denair held the lead at 27-14.

The game, though, was far from over.

A huge 53-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Austin Battles to Butler gave the Grizzlies the opportunity the team needed and with nearly the entire quarter left to play, MCHS was suddenly right back in it, trailing 27-21.

But an onside kick attempt by MCHS didn’t work, though it was so close, and Denair was set up with good field position for its next possession. The Grizzles, though, held on defense and the teams continued to trade possessions.

A big running play then set the Coyotes up deep inside Grizzlies territory and at the 3:55 mark, they scored another touchdown. The two-point attempt failed and it was 33-21 with hopes fading for Mariposa.

Those hopes, however, were raised with a crucial 15-yard holding penalty against Denair that gave the Grizzlies new life.

Butler made an incredible catch on the drive, picking it off the back of the defender and Battles capped off the effort with a right-side sweep into the end zone as the drizzle continued.

With 3:06 still to go, the Grizzlies were in striking distance, down 33-28.

Bull made a huge defensive stop at the 1:42 mark of the game and forced Denair to punt.

With no timeouts, the Grizzlies had one final chance and trailed by just five.

Butler had a crucial 15-yard run and with :41 left, Battles spiked the ball so everyone could take a breath and the coaching staff could make some decisions.

With the ball at midfield, Battles fired the ball down the field and though the pass was incomplete, Denair’s Jude Moody was flagged for a 15-yard targeting penalty and hope remained alive.

Facing a third and 10, Battles could not find a receiver but wisely tossed the ball out of bounds to set up one final play.

A short pass to Butler resulted in the small but stout senior trying everything to worm his way through the defense, but it fell short and he was stopped at the 30 yard line as the final horn sounded.

The season had ended for the Grizzlies.

In the soggy conditions, sportsmanship then prevailed as the Grizzlies shook the hands of their opponents and then slogged through the mud at the Gold Bowl to recognize the fans in the stands, who responded with cheers for the team they had followed with excitement all season.

It was then the group assembled around Pometta for him to speak for the final time with them in full pads, muddy as they were.

“A championship mentality at all times,” he told his troops. “And let’s prop it up for our seniors. I am so proud of everything you have done.”

He told his team to “remember the triumphs” and then, in an emotional moment, told all of his players something they may not have expected: “You were examples to my boys,” he said, speaking of his young children. The attention that statement drew from his team was obviously emotional as each player paid complete attention to the man who had led them on this journey.

With that, he told the team they would assemble next week, in dry conditions, to discuss what had happened and what is being planned for the future.

“It was a hell of a season,” he told them. “Thank you guys.”

For the game, Butler had 95 all purpose yards, 53 of them on the ground with a touchdown and the rest through the air, also including a touchdown.

Bull was the workhorse in the game, carrying the ball 13 times for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Battles had three carries for 18 yards and also scored a touchdown.

The team racked up 266 total offensive yards in the game.

Defensively, Bull and Beau Pokora each had six tackles while Connor Filgas recorded five.

Marquez was perfect in his extra-point attempts, nailing all four.

The Grizzlies ended the season at 9-2, an accomplishment in itself and most likely a sign to come under the tutelage of Pometta.

                 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Denair           7 7 13 6 33
Mariposa       0 7 7 14 28