Downey routs Gregori, collects part of MMC title

Downey High School’s road to a fourth straight Modesto Metro Conference title began on a quiet Monday at arguably the Knights’ low point.

Beaten by Modesto in an emotional thriller three nights before, the Knights walked onto their practice field and didn’t know what to expect. Would they be humbled? Quiet? Angry? Anxious to head home for dinner?

“I expected (the team) to be down. It was a devastating loss,” junior quarterback Brett Neves remembered. “But our practice was good and high tempo. We handled it well, better than I expected.”

Four dominant wins later – capped by Friday night’s 46-0 rout of Gregori at Don Lanphear Stadium – Downey celebrated its three-way tie with Beyer and Modesto for the MMC title. Though the Knights share first place, they put down an impressive marker by averaging 51 points a game after that loss to the Panthers.

“We have this building process now in its eighth year,” coach Jeremy Plaa said. “We want to keep improving.”

Downey (8-2, 5-1) hopes for a home berth when the Sac-Joaquin Section playoff brackets are announced Saturday. The Knights believe they’ve proven one thing – their performance arrow is pointed upward.

They figured to be better than Gregori (6-4, 3-3), which also figures to advance, but the margin was larger than expected.

Tyran Daniels, Downey’s fleet all-purpose weapon, sliced through the Gregori defense for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. Like his teammates, he improved as the game wore on.

“The atmosphere before the game was, ‘We gotta win,’ ” Neves said.

Neves completed 19 of 24 passes, featuring a bushel of tosses over the middle to Calvin Grover, for 202 yards and a short touchdown to Trevor Farris. When Neves capped an 85-yard march with a one-yard sneak late in the half, Downey led 19-0.

Gregori, which honored its seniors before the game, needed to be perfect. It wasn’t. A blocked punt, a poor punt snap and other errors doomed the Jaguars. Downey also contained running back Demetrius Vinson, limiting him to 26 yards on 11 carries and four catches for 87 yards. The Jaguars’ star accounted for 113 of his team’s 151 yards. None came easily.

Gregori threatened three times, but passes into the end zone by Cam Calton resulted in a tipped incompletion and two interceptions.

“They clearly were ready,” Vinson said. “They were calling our plays.”

Downey even gave its future opponent some extra prep time. On a gadget play, Grover passed to Neves for 18 yards to set up Daniels’ third TD. Then, late in the game, reserve quarterback Tyler Lehikainen found junior Isaiah Larry for a 69-yard catch-and-run to the end zone.

Larry, a dangerous receiver, became eligible last week. He’s one reason why Plaa thinks his team is peaking at the right time.

“Tonight was a culmination of what we’ve been working for all season. ...Winning four MMC titles in a row is an honor. Our kids have earned every single minute of it,” Plaa said. “I love this team. ... Everybody is getting healthy. We’re getting a few of our guys back next week.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Downey routs Gregori, collects part of MMC title."