Los Banos shuts down Gregori after opening kickoff TD in 34-7 road win
Gregori High’s homecoming crowd roared when senior Chris Knight sprinted nearly the length of the field for a touchdown on the opening kickoff Friday night at Lanphear Stadium.
It turned out to be the Jaguars’ only highlight.
Visiting Los Banos seized control after that early jolt and never let go, scoring the final 34 points to secure a 34-7 nonleague win in the last tune-up before league play for both teams.
EARLY SHOCK, QUICK RESPONSE
After Knight’s 75-yard return put Gregori ahead 7-0 just seconds into the game, Los Banos answered late in the first quarter.
Senior quarterback Gavin Blackwood-Estrada found Joshua Gargano streaking deep for a 55-yard strike with 3:42 left in the quarter to tie it.
“The quarterback checked me on a different route, and I was like, man, I hope he’s right,” Gargano said. “As soon as I caught it, I was like, I’ve got to go. It felt like a game changer and set the tone.”
The Tigers (2-3) kept the momentum through a string of defensive stops, holding Gregori to three consecutive three-and-outs.
“We challenged our defensive guys all week that they were going to have to play their butts off,” Los Banos coach Dustin Caropreso said. “They showed up today. We get a couple sacks, we get the pick-six. We haven’t had that, so if we can keep getting better, I think our team can play with the majority of the teams we’re going to face going forward.”
TIGERS TAKE COMMAND
Midway through the second quarter, Blackwood-Estrada capped a nine-play drive with a 12-yard connection to Jack Goodger for a touchdown, giving Los Banos a 14-7 halftime lead.
The third quarter belonged entirely to the visitors.
Kicker Elias Salvatier drilled a 29-yard field goal, then Los Banos recovered a squib kick that deflected off a Gregori player.
On the very next snap, Blackwood-Estrada launched a 50-yard bomb to Goodger for the senior’s second touchdown reception and a 24-7 cushion.
“Our offensive coaches put our guys in the perfect opportunities to succeed,” Caropreso said. “We just have to make the right throws, the right reads. We dropped a bunch of balls, but how we executed offensively was perfect.”
DEFENSE SLAMS THE DOOR
Gregori’s best chance to rally ended late in the third quarter when junior quarterback Mason Durao was intercepted in the end zone by senior Carmelo Smith.
Los Banos then bled more than six minutes off the clock before Salvatier added a 28-yard field goal for a 27-7 edge.
Sophomore Elijah Chiappetta delivered the exclamation point, returning Durao’s second interception for a fourth-quarter pick-six.
“Our defense was going off,” Gargano said. “That was really a shutout. The kickoff return was the only point they had, so I’m very proud of our defense. They stepped up.”
Caropreso said the win showed his group is “finally buying into the process.”
“The kids are finally buying into the whole process,” he said. “Other than that opening kickoff, we didn’t give up a touchdown. We’ve still got some stuff to clean up, but I like how our kids are buying in.”
JAGUARS SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS
Gregori (1-4) managed 114 passing yards and 83 rushing yards after Knight’s early burst. Durao finished 10 of 27 with two interceptions, and Maxximus Foster led the ground game with 46 yards. Noah Wegner caught three passes for 63 yards.
Coach Lamar Wallace said the Jaguars’ mistakes were decisive.
“We’re just beating ourselves a lot,” Wallace said. “We’ve got to give credit to Los Banos, but we’re making a lot of mistakes and getting ourselves behind the sticks. Until we put all things together and have all eleven doing their job every play, we have a lot of room for growth.”
Gregori committed 10 penalties, including five in the first half.
“It’s discipline,” Wallace said. “We have accountability Mondays where we run for these penalties, and until we eliminate them we’re not going to get the results we want.”
Wallace pointed to a third-quarter swing as pivotal.
“It hurt when they got the ball after half and we got a good defensive stop, and then on the kickoff it bounces off our guy’s foot, they recover and score on the next play,” he said. “That kind of let the air out of some of the sails.”
Despite four straight losses, Wallace said his team remains united.
“They’re a hardworking group and it’s a true brotherhood,” he said. “Any time you lose four in a row that stings, but it’s gut-check time and they’re up for the challenge.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Los Banos enters a bye week before opening Central California Conference play against El Capitan, followed by a showdown with Merced.
Gregori opens Central California Athletic League play next week at Downey, then faces Turlock.
In this meeting of big cats, the Tigers proved the more ferocious species, silencing the Jaguars after their first roar.
