Gregori pushes through in second half to beat Modesto, stay unbeaten in CCAL
Gregori High had a great week of practice, one of the best this season.
But that didn’t quite silence all of the worries Jaguars coach Lamar Wallace had going into Thursday’s Central California Athletic League matchup against Modesto High.
“My biggest fear was that we just came off that emotional win the week before,” Wallace said. “I was worried that we were going to come out flat.”
His fears came true.
After Jayden Miller broke open an 80-yard touchdown run on the Jaguars’ first play of the game, their offense stalled, allowing Modesto High to stay in the game and take a 9-7 second-quarter lead.
Cruz Marines answered with a 76-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Powers and the Jaguars settled down en route to a 43-15 victory at Downey High School.
Gregori improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the CCAL. Modesto fell to 2-5, 0-2.
The Jaguars forced a turnover on downs early in the third quarter that shifted the momentum. Senior Jake McBay helped establish a strong second half defensive presence.
“He’s one of our more physical guys and he brings intensity, so having him on the field helped out.” Wallace said.
With its defense minimizing Modesto’s offensive attack, Gregori’s offense blitzed the Panthers. Powers led the way with 226 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
“We were able to start establishing our drive, and finish drives,” Wallace said. “On defense, we started flying around a little bit better, and making some plays.”
Gregori faces Pitman (1-4, 0-1) next week. The Jaguars finish league with the CCAL’s two top teams, Downey (5-1, 1-0) and Turlock (2-4, 1-0).
Turlock and Downey face off on Friday so one team will end Week 8 with a league loss, which makes the Jaguars finishing their first two weeks of league important.
“Having to be in a hard fought first half and battle back tonight and last week being in a must-win situation and being able to come out and respond there, all of this stuff is going to be preparation for the tougher part of our league schedule.” Wallace said.
