Downey falls to visiting Granite Bay in second round of Division II section playoffs
An early deficit to a playoff team is sometimes too much to overcome.
Downey High learned that the hard way. After falling victim to a fast start from Granite Bay, the Knights found themselves in a 21-point hole.
The Grizzlies never looked back, upsetting the Knights, 42-24 in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs Friday night.
Granite Bay converted in late-down situations on three of its first five drives, which kept the Knights on their heels from the beginning.
A screen pass on third-and-22 turned into a 77-yard touchdown reception for running back Carter Jackson and Isaiah Ene turned a fake punt on fourth-and-two into a 25-yard gain that helped set up a second-quarter score.
“Watching on film (we knew) it was probably going to come down to big plays,” Downey coach Jeremy Plaa said. “Both teams had them. I think that first big play they got … not only was it a killer, but it put us on our heels for a few minutes and it took a while to recover.”
The Knights got on the board with a 1-yard run by Richard Williams, then a long pitch and catch from Conner Stoddard to Gabe Hernandez in the second quarter.
Granite Bay, the division’s sixth seed, entered the playoffs with just one league win, but playing in the tough Sierra Foothill League clearly toughened up the Grizzlies.
The Granite Bay offense won the line of scrimmage. The defense stuffed the run game and made things difficult at times for Stoddard, sacking him seven times.
“They’re a good football team,” Plaa said. “We were a little bit worried about their size and they were battle-tested. That’s the best team we played all year, hats off to them.”
Stoddard completed 21 of 24 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns, a 61-yard connection with Hernandez in the second quarter and a 36-yard strike over the middle in the fourth to Gavin Garcia.
Hernandez finished with 10 catches and 200 yards.
“We were gritty,” Plaa said. “I don’t get wrapped much in stats but Gabe Hernandez had a big night, Gavin (Garcia) had some catches, Cam had a couple catches and Ki (Ragland) ran hard.”
End of an era
The loss marks the end of the careers of a successful senior class for Downey.
More than half of the 25 athletes have been varsity teammates since they were sophomores. They went through a pandemic-shortened spring season, won two straight Central California Athletic League titles and hosted playoff games in back-to-back seasons.
The players helped the Knights to a 9-2 overall record their junior year and the first perfect regular season for the school since 1985. In the past two seasons, they held a 19-game regular season win streak. The Knights haven’t lost a regular season game since last year’s season opener against Manteca.
“I’m gonna miss them,” Plaa said. “It’s just a great group of kids that have taken to our coaching. Our assistant coaches do a great job being role models for our kids and our kids just soak that stuff up. We’re gonna get to watch them do great things with their adult lives and I’m sure they’ll be back around. We’re just gonna miss them. I love them all.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 7:39 AM.
