Sports
Football: Antioch Spoils Clayton Valley Home Opener in OT
Turnovers doom Eagles in preseason struggle with Panthers.
Antioch 29, Clayton Valley 23
The Star: Eagles kicker Eddie Juarez showed off a booming foot, connecting successfully on tries of 38, 43 and 44 yards. Juarez provided the most consistent offensive threat for a Clayton team struggling for continuity and an offensive identity.
The Turning Point: Late in the fourth quarter, nursing a tenuous three-point advantage Clayton Valley appeared poised to run out the clock. They had just picked up a crucial first down with less than 3:30 remaining, when disaster struck. The Eagles fumbled on the next running play, giving the Panthers the football in CV territory. However, the Clayton defense stepped up and stopped the Panthers drive,
stalling them on the 21-yard line. Antioch facing a long 4th-and-7 with only 30 seconds remaining, turned to kicker Hunter Karnthong, who tied the game and sent it to overtime with a 38-yard field goal.
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The Quote: "Bottom line, we did not play well. We did not play well enough to win. We had some good moments and had some turnover, but in general we have a lot of work to do." — Clayton Valley coach Herc Pardi.
What's Next? Clayton hosts Vintage of Napa, Friday, Sept. 16th at 7 p.m.
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Bottom Line: The game featured an hour-long delay for an awe inspiring lightening show, but even with the end of regulation and overtime dramatics, the game never measured up to the electricity in the sky. Turnovers and penalties sullied an otherwise exciting and entertaining photo finish.
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Friday night’s home opening game for Clayton Valley against Antioch nearly lasted until Saturday, but ultimately resulted in overtime heartbreak for the Uglies.
The Eagles watched as their star kicker, Eddie Juarez, who converted brilliantly on three field goals of 38, 43 and 44 yards, pushed his overtime attempt wide right.
“[Juarez] kept us in the ball game,” said Clayton coach Herc Pardi. “The last miss was no indication of what kind of ball game he had. They ended up scoring but we just did not make the plays. Last week, against Liberty we made the plays to win but this week against Antioch, a better team, we just did not manage to make the key plays.”
The miss left the door wide open for an Antioch team, who only led once in the entire game, at 6-3 early in the first period. The Panthers charged back from down 20-6 to tie the game with only seconds remaining in the final quarter.
In overtime, they completed the unorthodox if not extraordinary comeback, sealing the 29-23 victory with a seven-yard connection from quarterback Troy Amate to his 6-foot-3 flanker, Linsey Crofitt.
Antioch coach John Lucido said they had been trying to get the ball to their big-bodied receiver, Crofitt, all night. They decided on third down, instead of centering the ball for a field goal to go for it and give Crofitt a chance to make a play.
“It was a very gutsy call by the staff but that is how we roll,” said Lucido.
The Panthers consistently lived dangerously, going for it on nearly every fourth down or punting simply out of a shotgun formation.
“Very odd game tonight from the lightening to the penalties, to the mistakes we made,” added Lucido, who’s team was also penalized 16 times for over 100 yards. “Everything happened and I am proud of these guys for coming back from all that.”
Both coaches left the field visibly scratching their heads, the only difference was one had a nice smile plastered on his face.
The Panthers jumped on the Eagles quickly with an 80-yard touchdown drive on the game’s first drive.
However with 3:16 remaining in the first quarter, the game officials stalled play to wait for the lightening storm to pass.
The hour-long delay broke the Panthers momentum, as they had been blowing the Eagles off the ball and running the ball effectively.
“I was worried about how we would come out after the lightening delay,” said the 16-year veteran Pardi, who had never experienced a lightening delay. “But we responded well and came out strong.”
The Eagles ran off 20 unanswered points on a 12-yard touchdown scamper by Joe Prothroe, a 43-yard field goal by Juarez and an 11-yard pass from back-up quarterback Willy Noratto to Kaleb Chelette.
Amate sparked the Antioch comeback with a beautifully thrown pass to the leaping Karnthong for a 21-yard score bringing the Panthers to within seven points with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Crofitt finished with four catches for 47 yards, but was matched by Clayton’s Chelette who pulled down three balls for 66 yards.
Notes: The Uglies senior quarterback and captain, Mateo Gomez, pulled his hamstring during a scramble play to avoid oncoming rushers. He left the ball game and did not return, with Noratto replacing him.
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Antioch 29, Clayton Valley 23
Antioch 6 0 14 3 6 — 29
Clayton Valley 3 7 10 3 0 — 23
Scoring summary
7:29, 1st: A — Karnthong 2 run (kick failed)
0.17, 1st: CV — Juarez 38 field goal
10:35, 2nd: CV — J. Prothroe 12 run (Juarez kick)
9:54, 3rd: CV — Juarez 43 field goal
7:13, 3rd: CV — M. Prothroe 11 pass Chelette (Juarez kick)
8:57, 4th: A — Robinson 10 run (Karnthong kick)
7:01, 4th: CV — Juarez 44 field goal
0.30, 4th: A — Karnthong 38 field goal
OT: A — Amate 7 pass Crofitt
Records: Antioch 2-0. CV 1-1.
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