Football: Nipomo scores critical Ocean League win over Pioneer Valley
Apr. 11—A lot was on the line in the chase for the Ocean League title Saturday afternoon at Panther Stadium.
Pioneer Valley hosted Nipomo in an Ocean football game then.
The Panthers entered 1-0 and the lone unbeaten team in the league. Nipomo, meanwhile, came in with a 2-1 record and had its eye on keeping pace with Santa Maria, which moved to 3-1 in league with a 16-7 win over Mission Prep on Friday.
Both teams were riding a wave of momentum, having won their previous games.
Nipomo left the game with its momentum intact and a shot at winning at least a share of the Ocean League title as the Titans held off the Panthers in a 21-13 win.
That means Nipomo is now 3-1 with one game left to play: At winless Atascadero next week. Santa Maria is also 3-1, but has a tougher challenge in its last league game against Pioneer Valley next week. At 1-1, the Panthers also may have a shot at claiming at least a share of the league title, though it's a bit more complicated.
The Panthers' start of the season was delayed when the team went into quarantine ahead of the March 19 opener, having its first two games pushed back. The Panthers have the Santa Maria game on April 16 and the Atascadero game on April 23, but it's unclear if the team will end up playing Morro Bay, which is 1-3 on the season, meaning Pioneer Valley will likely come up a game short in the league standings.
On Saturday, which was Senior Day for more than a dozen Panthers, the Titans went ahead late in the second quarter and wouldn't relinquish their lead.
Nate Reese threw a touchdown pass to Declan Coles and Keyshawn Pu'a scored twice on short runs in the second half to give the Titans their win.
Both teams had chances to score early on.
The Panthers took their second possession of the game down inside the Nipomo 15, but quarterback Angel Vargas was hit hard by Pu'a and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Nipomo.
The Titans then marched down the field and got to the Pioneer Valley 2. On fourth-and-goal, Nipomo dialed up a sprint-out pass with quarterback Nate Reese throwing on the run, but the pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
Pioneer Valley got the ball and was stifled by the Nipomo defense and punted from its own end zone, but the Titans muffed the kick and the Panthers recovered. Tommy Nuñez ripped off a 39-yard run and the Panthers got inside the Nipomo 15 again, but Vargas was stuffed on a fourth-down run and Nipomo took over possession.
John Rubalcava gave the Panthers a lift when intercepted a Reese pass and returned it to the Nipomo 21. But Pioneer Valley's offense couldn't get any rhythm and turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass on fourth down.
That's when the Titan offense got into gear. Reese hit a couple key throws, including a long catch-and-run to Victor Ortiz. That helped set up the first score of the game as Reese found an open Declan Coles in the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown strike.
The kick was good and the Titans were on their way to a win. Nipomo had another chance to score before half after the Panthers turned the ball over again, but Reese was sacked on the final play of the half.
Nipomo was able to keep the ball moving in the second half and the two Pu'a runs were enough to keep the Panthers at bay.
Pioneer Valley honored its 13 seniors before the game. They are Angel Vargas, Andres Vargas, Tommy Nuñez, Marcus Robledo, Roman Becerra, Mynor Cugua, Ronaldo Garcia Martinez, Gabriel Liendo, Gavin Gomez, Danny Avila, Carlos Rosas, Isaiah Porraz and Dylan Leon.
