Learning curve: Downey falls to Granite Bay; juniors show promise

Jeremy Plaa has built a program comfortable playing at warp speed.

Downey quarterback Brett Neves and his linemen charge to the line of scrimmage in attack mode, hoping to catch the defense on their heels.

Footballs fly all over the field. For four quarters, Downey swarms like bees.

However, postseason success has come slowly to the four-time defending Modesto Metro Conference champion. His team plays with the pedal down, but Plaa realizes that building a program the section will fear is an inch-by-inch process.

When he speaks about the trajectory of his program, “patience” – not “tempo” – is the watchword.

On Friday, a former state champion served as the measuring stick. The Granite Bay Grizzlies dictated terms with their ground game and forced three turnovers in a 42-31 victory in the first round of the Division II playoffs.

Granite Bay next Friday will play the winner of Monday’s game between No. 1 Grant and No. 16 Beyer.

Downey, on the other hand, is done. The Knights finish 8-3 with another season-ending loss to a Sacramento area heavyweight. In each of the last two seasons, Downey’s season was pinned by Grant.

Against Granite Bay, one of four teams to qualify for the postseason at 5-5, the Knights had at least a puncher’s chance. Downey led 13-7 in the first quarter and kept fans’ attention with a 75-yard kickoff return touchdown by Braxton Howze in the fourth quarter.

“There was no doubt we deserved to be on the field with these guys. I’m still excited for our future,” Plaa said. “Sooner or later, we’ll learn how to win one of these games and march toward a section title.

“Five years ago, we wanted to win league and couldn’t figure out how to do it. We kept the process going. Now we want to a win a section title and sooner or later, we’ll do it. It’s just a process.”

Downey is set up for success. Neves and a talent-rich junior class acquitted themselves well on the postseason stage.

Neves was 30 of 43 for 283 yards with touchdown passes to juniors Calvin Grover and Trevor Farris. He showed his moxie late in the first half, connecting with Grover in the end zone as time expired.

The Knights trailed 28-19.

Grover finished with four catches for 46 yards. Farris led all receivers with 106 yards on eight catches, including a 37-yard scoring grab in the fourth quarter to keep hope alive.

Neves threw Farris open, leading him into an alley in the middle of the field. Farris ran under the ball and sprinted untouched into the end zone to make it 35-25 with 10:24 left.

Howze, yet another junior, had an interception to go along with his kickoff return.

“I’m sad for our seniors because I was close to that group,” Plaa said, “but I’m excited for our juniors and sophomores because we have a great team coming back.”

Downey jumped to an early lead on touchdown runs by Tyran Daniels (eight carries, 59 yards), but Granite Bay scored 21 unanswered points to lead 28-19 at the break.

The Grizzlies created three turnovers with a defense devised specifically for the Knights’ spread attack. Granite Bay disguised its blitzes and mixed coverages, and played with a poise and discipline forged in the Sierra Foothill League, one of two super conferences.

Downey was held scoreless in the third quarter.

“Their defense is the best defense we’ve seen all year,” Plaa said. “These guys mixed it up nonstop. One time they’re bringing six and the next time they’re bringing three. A lot of times when teams try to do that to us, we catch them misaligned. These guys weren’t.

“It wasn’t like they had super stellar athletes. They were quick and they were always in position.”

Granite Bay maximized its roster of 66 players, stocking its Fly Sweep offense with fresh legs. The Grizzlies rushed the ball 59 times for 436 yards and six touchdowns. Ten different players carried the ball for coach Jeff Evans.

“We’ve never seen anything like that. It was tough, all the misdirections and stuff,” Howze said. “We played our butts off. We tried. It just didn’t work out.”

Christian Fisher had a game-high 109 yards on 11 carries, but Granite Bay followed the lead of its line-moving running back Ryan MacIntosh.

After missing last week’s game with a concussion, MacIntosh (14 carries, 75 yards) scored three touchdowns and converted a fourth-and-2 with about 3 minutes left that allowed Granite Bay to run out of the clock.

“We’re limited in big-play ability, so we have to find ways to keep grinding the ball,” Evans said.

Afterward, Plaa moved slowly through the crowd along the home sideline, stopping to console his seniors. He thanked them for being a part of the process.

He hopes their investment today will pay off with a section title down the road.

“It’s like I told them in the locker room before the game, ‘Nobody is giving you a chance to beat Granite Bay,’ ” Plaa said. “Everybody talks about how good Sacramento teams are. I think this is a 50-50 game. If we keep playing these games, I think we win some of them.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 12:12 AM with the headline "Learning curve: Downey falls to Granite Bay; juniors show promise."