By Ed Piper
Early in La Jolla's 27-20 win over Del Norte Sept. 9--really early--a key play was called dead by game officials because an "inadvertent whistle" had been blown just prior to the play.
The play could have changed the entire complexion of the game. The Vikings struggled to hold on to their lead in the fourth quarter, requiring an interception in the end zone by Tommy Castronovo as time ran out to guarantee their one-TD victory.
On the 12th play of the game, La Jolla's first possession running out of gas, kicker/punter Evan Martin blasted the ball on a fourth-and-10 on Del Norte's 40-yard line.
At the receiving end, standing just in front of the southern goal line, the punt receiver for the Nighthawks signaled for a fair catch as Vike defenders rushed up to him. As he did so, the ball glanced off him and hit the ground. An LJ defender and the punt returner began a tussle for the ball, which was loose.
Not far away was the La Jolla bench. Coaches and players had come down the line, as the play took place not far from their sideline.
Whistle. Officials blew the play dead, and ruled that the "inadvertent whistle"--by one of the referees' crew--had annulled the play before it happened.
Viking head coach Tyler Roach went nuts. He was hopping up and down, screaming that officials were not on their game, blowing the call: "You've already blown your whistle eight times, and..."
The thing was, it was very possible that should a La Jolla defender have wrestled the ball away from the intended punt returner, Jackson Diehl and the Viking offense would have taken over at the two- or three-yard line of a scoreless game. They very likely could have scored from there.
The game was expected to be close. Both teams went in with 2-1 records. Del Norte and La Jolla have had a good, even intense rivalry over the last couple of years, even if their pairing is a non-league one. Last year, Viking quarter Jackson Stratton legged out a run instead of throwing a pass, and suffered a fracture of the bone behind his throwing shoulder. That put him out for a couple of weeks, then he reinjured it in the final game of the season against Scripps Ranch, a CIF championship game, helping spell La Jolla's disaster.
Back to Friday night, La Jolla did hold on to its lead, partly by adding another touchdown late in the fourth quarter to go up 27-13 with a little insurance. Justin Scully ran that one over. Right after Scully's repeated wildcat runs to score, Del Norte's super sophomore receiver Ty Olsen went 72 yards with his second straight reception from quarterback Jack Schneider to score a TD and tighten the game at 27-20.
La Jolla barely held on to win.
No comments:
Post a Comment