Downey’s offense stalls in home playoff loss to Lodi
The Downey High football team discovered Friday night that you can’t score if you don’t have the ball.
In the Knights’ first round Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoff game against Lodi, the visiting Flames dominated time of possession in the first half, keeping Downey’s high-powered offense on the sidelines en route to a 38-19 victory.
The defeat ended the season for the Knights, who finished 9-2 after winning its first Central California Athletic League title. The loss to Lodi snapped a nine-game winning streak.
“Nothing was going right tonight, it seemed like,” Downey coach Jeremy Plaa said. “They were more ready to win this game than we were. I know our kids wanted it.”
Lodi, the Tri-City Athletic League’s third-place finisher, ran 19 plays on its first possession, chewing up almost 10 minutes before kicking a field goal. The Flames recovered the ensuing onside kick, and ran out the rest of the first quarter before the Knights’ first possession.
When Downey finally got the ball in the second quarter, the Knights fumbled on their third play. That led to an 11-yard Bradley Jenkins touchdown. The Knights then mishandled the ensuing kickoff and Brayden Stout capitalized with an 8-yard touchdown run.
Downey’s offense failed to convert on fourth downs on its next two possessions and entered halftime trailing 17-0.
The Flames (8-3) pounded the ball on the ground all night and Downey didn’t have answers.
“Our kids played really hard,” Plaa said. “Our coaching staff was looking for answers. We just couldn’t find it.”
What felt like the Knights’ only highlight came to start the third quarter. Quarterback Conner Stoddard dropped back and let the ball fly down the left sideline to a sprinting Fayzon Allen. After being tipped, the ball bounced off of the defender’s helmet and Allen came down with it for a 40-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 17-7.
Six minutes and 15 run plays later, Lodi found itself in the end zone once again.
Other than the Allen touchdown, Lodi’s defense took away Downey’s ability to make big plays. They held Stoddard to 188 yards passing and forced two interceptions, returning one for a 55-yard touchdown.
After having drives stalled by turnovers for most of the game, the Knights found their offensive stride in the fourth quarter.
They marched 49 yards in four minutes for Kimoni Ragland’s first touchdown of the game. The Knights recovered the ensuing onside kick and Ragland capped his 16-carry, 104-yard night with his second rushing touchdown.
But it was too late.
“We continued to fight,” Stoddard said. “I feel like that was the best part of the game. In the fourth quarter, we never gave up. Our offense kept rolling. We kept fighting.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 12:40 AM.
