Missed opportunities prove costly for Garces in 28-6 Holy Bowl loss

Sep. 11—The Garces football team had plenty of chances to take control of Saturday's Holy Bowl, and in the process commemorate the 75th anniversary of the school's first meeting with Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial with a victory over one of the state's top-50 teams.

But try as they might, the Rams failed to capitalize, and the visiting Panthers pulled away in the second half for a 28-6 victory at Sam Tobias Field.

"We've gotta get that fixed," said Garces coach Paul Golla of the missed opportunities. "And that's not the first time that that's happened, right? We've got to take advantage of things and finish things. I think that's a great word for the next two weeks, 'finish.'"

Senior running back Brandon Ramirez scored two of his team's four rushing touchdowns and finished with a team-high 97 yards to help Memorial extend its lead with a big third quarter, highlighted by his 32-yard scoring run with 1:00 left to give the Panthers (3-1) a 21-6 lead.

After a scoreless first quarter, Ramirez opened the game's scoring with a 28-yard scoring run, breaking a tackle at the line before sprinting to the end zone with 8:12 left in the first half.

The Rams (1-3) responded with a 10-play, 76-yard drive, keyed by a 33-yard halfback pass from Juju Smith to Isaiah Perry that moved the ball to the Panther 33. Six plays later, it was Smith on the receiving end from a pass by quarterback Jordan Gallegoz, jumping in front of a defender inside the 5, pivoting and moving his way into the end zone with 4:01 left in the first half. But Garces missed the extra point and still trailed 7-6.

Opportunity came knocking again when Garces forced Memorial to a three-and-out, and when the snap on the punt attempt sailed over Alex Asparuhov, the Rams recovered at the Panther 1-yard line.

But once again Garces failed to answer, as Memorial's defense kept the Rams out of the end zone four straight plays just before the half.

Garces had another chance to take the lead early in the third quarter when Rams' defensive back Cage Williams made a juggling interception and returned it to the Memorial 12. But three plays later, Gallegoz was picked off by Jayden Enriquez to halt the drive.

The Panthers were forced to punt again and Garces moved the ball to the 28, setting up a 45-yard field goal attempt by Nico Fanucchi. But his kick was short and to the left.

All the missed chances had Golla searching for answers.

"It's just one breakdown at a time," Golla said. "It's not like 11 guys are falling apart, it's one kid (at a time.) And that's the thing, we're down at the goalline and we have an unblocked defensive lineman that gets us in the back field. It's a simple, simple fix, but those are things about every great offense or defense ... they don't break down in time of duress. And that's what that is. In times of duress when we really need to be focused."

Memorial scored on its next three possessions, capped by a 43-yard touchdown run by Tye Morgan with 6:22 to play.

The Garces defense held the Panthers in check most of the night, and intercepted Memorial quarterback Carson Dean. Dean finished 7 for 14 for just 93 yards.

The Rams outgained the Panthers in the first half 134-70, forcing them to punt on three of their four possessions.

Garces managed just 43 yards from scrimmage in the second half, and Gallegoz was intercepted three times. He finished 6 of 13 for 66 yards and also rushed for a team-high 53 yards on 15 carries.

The Rams played without leading rusher David Smith, who was a game-time decision with a sprained ankle. He also starts at linebacker along with Logan Slaton, who was also out with an ankle injury. A third linebacker and back-up running back, RJ Green, left the game with what appeared to be a leg cramp late in the third quarter and did not return.

"(It was an) unbelievable game," Golla said. "(We were) down some guys coming in and other guys stepped right in. We had some sophomores that came in and just battled tonight. Our kids made some huge strides and battled the entire night. We've gotten a lot better and I'm excited about that."