Downey rallies from 20 points down to overcome tired Merced
Downey High coach Jeremy Plaa threw down the gauntlet to his team at halftime Friday night.
“If you want to be a good team, you’ve got to beat a good team,” Plaa told his players.
The Knights responded to their coach’s message, rallying for four second-half touchdowns and a 34-20 nonleague victory over a tired Merced team at Chuck Hughes Stadium.
“The first half we were all excited and amped up,” Downey quarterback Conner Stoddard said. “The first half we weren’t being ourselves at all, and the second half we just calmed down and we played our ball.
“And we trusted each other and trusted what the coaches put in us and we did good.”
After dropping the season opener at Manteca, 46-14, Downey (1-1) had its second game canceled due to poor air quality. That left the Knights to stew over the disappointment for two weeks.
Friday night’s first half was similarly frustrating for the Knights, who could do little right. Dropped passes, bad snaps and mental miscues helped Merced (1-2) jump out to an early lead.
The Bears got two TD runs from quarterback Seth Scheidt and a 34-yard fumble return by Jaylen Thao-Booth to take a 20-0 lead in the second quarter.
But on the first play of the ensuing drive, Stoddard found a wide-open Gabe Hernandez for an 80-yard TD strike and the Knights went into the halftime break down by 14.
Downey’s defense turned things around in the second half, forcing four turnovers — three interceptions and a fumble.
Stoddard and the Downey offense made the most of the opportunities, with the strong-armed quarterback throwing two second-half TDs, both to Camden Rush. Downey running back Kimoni Ragland ran for two touchdowns — an 8-yarder in the third quarter and an 18-yarder in the fourth.
The turnaround was swift and startling.
“Anybody that knows us, knows that we are a team of momentum,” Plaa said.
Merced was coming off a Monday game and the Bears appeared tired in the second half.
“After a weekend of getting a game canceled on Friday, getting ready on Monday, short week to play on Friday again, it’s just tough,” Merced coach Rob Scheidt said.
Downey, meanwhile, has some room to grow.
While the Knights’ roster has a lot of seniors, quite a few juniors play key roles, including Stoddard (QB), Rush (WR), Ragland (RB) and Derrick Kirkendall, a sophomore running back who shared carries with Ragland.
“Were still a young team when you look at who we have on the field,” Plaa said. “With the spring season and the game that got canceled it seems like we’ve played a lot of games, but this was only the second (varsity) game for a lot of our guys.”
If the Knights can continue to build off the second half of Friday’s victory, they’ll be able to contend — as they usually do — in the competitive Central California Athletic League.
Downey will play Beyer (0-2) next Friday at Chuck Hughes Stadium. The Patriots will be the home team.
Next up for Merced is a home game on Thursday night against 2-0 Madera, led by former Downey quarterback Beau Green.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 12:16 AM.
