Turnovers cost Golden Sierra
GARDEN VALLEY — Tied up at 7-all, visiting Rio Americano took advantage of two key defensive stops to pull out a 28-7 road win over host Golden Sierra Friday.
“Tonight was probably our best offensive game, moving the ball-wise,” Grizzly coach John Hilton said. “We put ourselves in a few tough situations and we just weren’t able to respond. I’m proud of the guys, they played hard for all 48 minutes.”
After the Raiders took an early 7 point lead, Golden Sierra responded with a drive to Rio’s 1-yard line only to come up empty. After a Brian Cann interception two possessions later, the Griz tied the game on a Bryson Campbell one-yard score.
“We ran the ball I thought very well we just didn’t finish some drives. Credit to Rio, they took advantage of some our mistakes,” Hilton said. “
Taking the second half kickoff, Golden Sierra marched eight plays to the Raider 20 before turning the ball over on downs as Cann was stopped for a loss on fourth-and-two.
Four plays later, Rio’s Mark Lyon found Ryan Burns for a 23-yard scoring toss and a 16-7 lead. The Grizzlies responded as they drove to the Raider 36 only to lose it on a fumble, one of their five turnovers. Five players later Austin Chastain hauled in Lyon’s 59 yard strike for a 21-7 advantage.
Rio Americano added a late fourth quarter score for its final 21-point advantage and their first win of the season.
Daniel Lesher led the Grizzlies with 110 yards rushing. Cameron Stephens added 55 on 13 carries and Cann ran for 35. Campell had 37 yards passing while Gracen Christensen had a catch for 31 yards. Defensively, Cann and Christensen had interceptions. Lesher and Casey Blakley each added a fumble recovery.
“Were coming together as team right now,” Hilton said. “We made some mistakes but the guys played hard every play and we executed some things well on offense.”
Cody Holliday
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