Davis’ perfect season ends with 33-21 loss to Roseville in playoff opener
The Davis High football team’s dream season came to an end Friday night. But as head coach Tim Garcia told his players afterward, there was no reason for the Spartans to hang their heads.
Ricky Bastianelli ran for 155 yards and four touchdowns as Roseville defeated Davis 33-21 in an exciting Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoff game at Modesto Junior College.
It was the first loss of the season for the 8th-seeded Spartans (10-1), who became the second team in school history to go 10-0 in the regular season. Davis also claimed a Western Athletic League title.
“Our kids played extremely hard and gave it everything they got,” Garcia said. “That’s a physical, well-coached football team over there.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’m super proud of our kids. Hopefully we made the Davis High community and alumni proud of what we accomplished this year. These guys should be extremely proud of what they accomplished.”
Ninth-seeded Roseville (7-4) advanced to take on top-seeded Oakdale next weekend at The Corral. The Mustangs (7-2) will be coming off a bye.
“If we’re going to win a section championship, we’ve got to go through the Top 4 teams anyway,” Roseville coach Adam Reinking said. “So let’s just do it next week and see where we’re at.”
The Davis-Roseville matchup was a contrast in styles, with the Spartans using their hurry-up offense and the Tigers using their misdirection running attack to pound the ball and run the clock.
Davis senior quarterback Jose Sanchez passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions.
Spartans standout running back Isaac Martinez, another senior, was shut down in the first half by the hard-hitting Roseville defense. But Martinez had three big runs in the second half, with runs of 20 and 26 yards, and a 32-yard scamper for Davis’ final touchdown.
Meanwhile, the Davis defense had no answer for Roseville’s running game. When Bastianelli wasn’t busting through Spartans’ defense, the Tigers were giving it to Gabe Norris, who finished with 110 yards on 21 carries.
Norris’ 3-yard touchdown run with 2 minutes, 48 seconds left in the game iced the win for Roseville.
Oakdale is next for Roseville
The Tigers will want to get off to a better start next week when they take on Oakdale next week. The Mustangs went 4-2 in the ultra-tough Valley Oak League.
“We’ve had a tendency in big games to start off a little sluggish,” Reinking said. “I’m super proud of our guys. We just kind of went back to our fundamentals and we believed in what we’re doing offensively.”
Next week’s game will feature two teams that like to run the ball and use misdirection to do it.
As for Davis, the Spartans can now take some time to reflect on a stellar season.
Asked how he’ll remember this team, Garcia said:
“Blue-collar guys. Blue-collar guys that bought into the process, that were loyal to our school, that never gave up or quit, and stuck to the plan.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 11:27 PM.
