Roundup: Good win for Vista del Lago’s Goodwin, whose late strike prevents an upset

Nik Goodwin completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Carson King and Carter King made the PAT with three minutes and 23 seconds to play in the fourth quarter to rally No. 5 Vista del Lago over No. 12 River Valley 14-13 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III opener Friday night in Folsom.

Zack Corbitt’s fumble recovery on the Eagles’ 31-yard line with two minutes to play helped secure the win and move Vista del Lago (9-2) to the quarterfinals Friday at No. 4 Manteca.

Goodwin’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Corbitt put the Eagles ahead 7-0 in the first quarter before Nathan Nava’s 3-yard touchdown run for River Valley knotted the game 7-7 at the half. The Falcons (4-7) took a 13-7 lead to open the third quarter when Dalton Whiteley returned the kickoff 75 yards for the touchdown, though the PAT was missed.

The Eagles’ defense was otherwise stellar in the second half. In addition to Corbitt’s fumble recovery, Vista del Lago had four sacks, including two by Jaxson Hansen.

Goodwin finished 16 of 26 for 202 yards in addition to his two touchdowns. Junior running back Ethan Menezes rushed for 104 yards on 26 carries. The area rushing leader has 1,712 yards on the season.

River Valley, which finished fifth in the Capital Valley Conference, was trying to duplicate its road warrior playoff effort of last season when it beat Sac High and Merced before falling 7-6 to then-12-0 Placer.

DIVISION I

No. 5 Monterey Trail 28, No. 12 Pleasant Grove 14 at Monterey Trail HS – Antonio Williams returned an interception 95 yards for a touchdown and caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Prophet Brown, who also scored on a 92-yard run to lead the Mustangs (10-1) over the Eagles (6-5). Monterey Trail will play at No. 4 St. Mary’s in Stockton on Friday.

No. 6 Davis 41, No. 11 Gregori 7 in Davis – Zach Carrell threw two touchdown passes; Payne Barksdale, Taylor Vaughn and Aaron Turner rushed for touchdowns; and Zach Brooks returned a Gregori turnover for a touchdown to lead the Blue Devils (10-1) past the visiting Jaguars (6-5) form Modesto. Davis will play at No. 3 Inderkum on Friday.

No. 7 Turlock 42, No. 10 Del Oro 21 in Turlock – Brock Paslay threw four touchdown passes, Tyran Montgomery had two interceptions and a fumble recovery and the Bulldogs (9-2) took advantage of six turnovers to prevail easily against the Golden Eagles (6-5). Aiden Foster returned a fumble 40 yards for a touchdown for Del Oro. Turlock will play at No. 2 Oak Ridge on Friday.

DIVISION II

No. 6 Elk Grove 41, No. 11 Oakmont 22 in Elk Grove – Khalani Riddick had an early interception return for a touchdown and Damian Allen’s 10-yard touchdown run gave the Thundering Herd (7-4) a comfortable 27-7 third quarter lead against the Vikings (6-5). Elk Grove will play at No. 3 Vacaville on Friday.

No. 7 Granite Bay 30, No. 10 Downey 22 in Granite Bay – Tied 14-14 at the half, Chris Caldera and Connor Sloan rushed for touchdowns and Justin Sampson booted a field goal to help the Sierra Foothill League battle-tested Grizzlies (5-6) beat the Knights (7-4) and advance to the Division II quarterfinals at No. 2 Cosumnes Oaks on Friday. Kai Singleton and Ty Peterson produced interceptions of Downey’s Bryce Gouker, the section passing leader, who finished with 244 yards and three touchdowns.

No. 9 Whitney 42, No. 8 Lincoln 21 in Lincoln – Eli Brickhandler threw 40- and 38-yard touchdown passes to Ian Simpson and Nick Miller ran for a 47-yard touchdown to lead the Wildcats (5-6) past the Fighting Zebras (5-6). Whitney will host top-seeded and city rival Rocklin on Friday. The Thunder cannot host any playoff games this season due to a violation of section rules.

DIVISION III

No. 6 Roseville 52, No. 11 Johnson 22 in Roseville – First quarter touchdown runs by Joe Brijs and Malik Bowman helped kickstart a potent Tigers (7-4) offense that overwhelmed the Warriors (8-3), which was making their first playoff appearance since 2001. Roseville will play at No. 3 Buhach Colony on Friday.

No. 10 Yuba City 54, No. 7 Christian Brothers 19 at Hughes Stadium – Erik Palmquist threw touchdown passes of 52 and 29 yards, rushed for 49- and 8-yard scores and returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown to propel the Honkers past the Falcons. Yuba City plays at No. 2 Placer on Friday. Luke Jones caught two touchdown passes for Christian Brothers.

No. 9 Antelope 29, No. 8 Ponderosa 28 in Shingle Springs – Quincy Gallon rushed for a touchdown and threw two touchdown passes, including the a game-winning, come-from-behind 60-yard bomb to Leondre Huerta-Moore with 5 minutes to play to help the Titans (6-5) edge the Bruins (5-6). Antelope plays at top-seeded Capital Christian on Friday.

DIVISION IV

No. 7 Patterson 37, No. 10 Del Campo 28 in Patterson – The Tigers (7-4) led 27-7 entering the fourth quarter before the Cougars (5-6) closed to six points midway in the fourth quarter. Patterson got a 32-yard field goal with 2:13 to play to gain breathing room.

No. 8 Vanden 56, No. 9 Nevada Union 14 in Fairfield – A.J. Meyer had an 80-yard kickoff return for the Miners (5-6), but otherwise the Falcons (6-5) dominated, leading 42-7 after the first quarter. Malakhi Demoss rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns for Vanden, which visits top-seeded Rio Linda next..

DIVISION V

No. 12 Los Banos 48, No. 5 Woodland 21 in Woodland – Colby Copp threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns; Landen Ramos had five catches for 267 yards and three touchdowns and Justin Incaprera rushed for three touchdowns as the Tigers (6-5) walloped the Wolves (7-4). Los Banos will play No. 4 Bradshaw Christian on Friday.

No. 6 Rosemont 41, No. 11 Livingston 19 in Rosemont – Zion Gedeon rushed for two second half touchdowns and had 241 yards rushing total and Kyle Masterson threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to DeMarco Brodnax as the Wolverines (9-2) won comfortably against the Wolves (6-5).

No. 10 Foothill 47, No. 7 Liberty Ranch 30 in Galt – Dae’vonnie Williams rushed for 290 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Mustangs (8-3) over the Hawks (5-6). Foothill will play at No. 2 Ripon on Friday.

No. 9 Colfax 41, No. 8 Union Mine 38 in El Dorado – Travyn Heimann threw a touchdown pass to Juliono Martello with six seconds to play to rally the Falcons over the Diamondbacks. John Beckman’s 5-yard run with 4:14 to play cut Union Mine’s lead to 38-35, then the Falcons picked off a pass to set up the winning score. Beckman also had a 67-yard touchdown run, Martello a 34-yard touchdown catch and Peter O’Brien a 66-yard touchdown catch. Clayton Beyer, one of the section’s top passers, had another monster game for Union Mine.

DIVISION VI

No. 7 Bear River 64, No. 10 Highlands 26 in Lake of the Pines – Colton Jenkins returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and had two interceptions; Tre Maronic returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown, Ryder Kiggins rushed for two touchdowns and the Bruins (8-3) set a school record for points in belting the Scots (8-3). Bear River will play at No. 2 Hilmar on Friday.

No. 6 Calaveras 56, No. 11 Western Sierra 13 in San Andreas – Clayton Moore scored four touchdowns and freshman Braeden Orlandi rushed for a 98-yard touchdown in his first varsity carry to lead Calaveras (8-3) over the Wolves (4-7) from Rocklin.

DIVISION VII

No. 6 Vacaville Christian 30, No. 3 Woodland Christian 14 in Woodland – Tied 7-7 at the half, Gabe Helmer rushed for a touchdown and threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Tamani Williams, who also rushed for a 10-yard touchdown, as the Falcons (7-4) topped the Cardinals (8-3).

NORTHERN SECTION

East Nicolaus 26, University Prep 7 in Redding – Gavin McAuliff’s 80-yard touchdown run and J.T. Stinson’s 34-yard scoring run, both in the fourth quarter, helped the Spartans (9-1, 5-0) pull away from the Panthers (8-2, 4-1) in the Mid-Valley League championship game.