 Galen Kusic
Staff Writer
Delta knew it would be a tough contest going into Foresthill and coming away with a victory. Unfortunately for the Saints, they didn’t know just how tough as they were shutout by the Wildfires, 28-0 in their first league loss of the season.
“Foresthill played really well,” said Delta Head Coach Bob Lee. “Their offense was methodical. They scored a touchdown in each quarter.”
The Saints were plagued by three costly turnovers that gave Foresthill great field position, and eventually turned into scores. The Saints had poor field position all game long, as the Wildfires pinned them inside the 20-yard line on more than one occasion.
“Foresthill did a great job at controlling the line of scrimmage,” said Lee. “They didn’t have a lot of big plays, but they were really good at converting on third down. It was a ballgame- we had a couple opportunities, but we stalled on drives.”
Junior fullback Vince Heffington had a nice game on the ground- rushing 16 times for 125 yards to lead the Saints. The Wildfires did a great job at containing the Saints most explosive offensive weapon, halfback Avory Trejo, who rushed 14 times for only 45 yards in the loss. Trejo had a big interception on defense, his fourth of the season.
“We couldn’t get any big plays,” said Lee. “We had to put together 12-13 play drives, and we didn’t convert on third down. It’s harder to depend on those big runs when you play better ball clubs.”
Saints quarterback Cory Wallace had a tough game as the Wildfires put the pressure on the first-year quarterback all game long. Wallace was 3 of 9 for 20 yards with an interception and two lost fumbles.
“They did a nice job keeping the ball away from us,” said Lee. “It was a physical game, and we came up short. We look forward to playing them again. Everybody in league can beat us. We have to look at film and continue to play better.”
It doesn’t get any easier from here on out for the Saints, as they have to go back through league the second time around. Woodland Christian is vastly improved, and Cristo Rey has been playing some tough games. Valley Christian has even played some tough games of late, proving that the Sac-Metro league is much more competitive than a year ago when the Saints ran the table. Delta is currently 3-3, and 3-1 in league.
Now it will all come down to the final week of the season, when the Saints take on Foresthill at home. It will be a must-win for the Saints to earn a playoff berth and a possible share of the league title. This week the Saints have a bye before taking on Woodland Christian in Woodland on Saturday, October 15 at 1 p.m. |
