Era comes up short

Oct. 1—A last second tackle near the goal line made the difference Friday night.

The Era football team lost 16-14 at home after Chico stopped a late 2-point conversion which would have tied the game.

Era (1-5 overall, 0-2 District 8-2A Division II) had a chance when senior quarterback Jarren Twiner fired the ball downfield to sophomore Bradyn Bookhout. He made the catch in strike and outran a defender for a 45-yard touchdown with 1:31 remaining.

Chico (2-4, 1-1) made a critical tackle on the two-point conversion attempt, a jet sweep to the right. The Dragons recovered the ensuing kickoff, picked up a first down and kneeled out the clock.

Era coach Terry Felderhoff said speed allowed Chico to stop the conversion attempt.

"We initially had the corner," Felderhoff said. "Their fastest kid on the field caught up to us and made the play."

Era began the fourth quarter up 8-0 in Chico territory. On the Hornets' second play of the quarter, Chico junior Willie Lacey undercut a pass and took it about 60 yards the other way. Chico scored the 2-point conversion to tie the game with 11:13 remaining.

After an Era punt, the Dragons finished a nine-play drive with a 28-yard run up the middle by senior quarterback Brennan Anderle, who then found fellow senior Xavier Martinez in the endzone for another 2 points.

Felderhoff said the game changed after the pick six.

"We had a lull and didn't respond real well," Felderhoff said. "Then they scored again, and it put us really behind the eight ball. We had a blown coverage on the 2-point conversion. You gotta play complete games in tight, close games. You gotta play the whole time, and that's from start to finish."

Now trailing with 3:34 to play, Era needed a spark. Hunter Jarvis provided it with a great kickoff return, setting up the Hornets at the Chico 45-yard line. Era picked up 18 yards on the first play, but two holding penalties backed up the Hornets. Twiner's touchdown pass came on second down and 28.

Felderhoff said the Era can't put itself in bad spots with penalties, but he is pleased the Hornets kept pushing.

"We called a little play action pass we put in this week, and it worked like it's supposed to," Felderhoff said. "We gotta do those things and execute the whole night. I'm proud of them for fighting through right there by all means and giving us a chance to tie it up."

Although Chico's defense made the critical stop in the end, Era also had a good defensive showing. The Hornets stopped Chico on fourth down three times and shut out the Dragons for three quarters. Right before halftime, Chico reached the Era 11-yard line, but the Hornets held.

"Our front did good for the most part," Felderhoff said. "(Linebackers) did good most of time. Secondary, they run the ball mostly, so secondary had to come up and play run support, mostly. Ultimately, they did OK. We just gotta be better all the way around."