Los Banos overpowers Davis 48-0 to avenge last year’s one-point loss

From the moment they stepped onto the field Friday night for pre-game warm-ups, Los Banos looked like a team playing with a chip on its shoulder.

But according to head coach Dustin Caropreso, that wasn’t the case this week leading up to the game.

“We were really bad in practice, all week,” said Caropreso, whose team lost by a point to the Spartans last season at Loftin Stadium. “I didn’t know how we’d show up tonight.”

Turns out Caropreso need not have worried.

The Tigers (2-1) cruised to a 48-0 victory at Modesto Junior College, avenging a heartbreaking loss that, in all likelihood, cost LB the No. 2 seed in last year’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs.

As it were, the Tigers were the No. 3 seed and lost to No. 2 Sonora on the road in the semifinal round.

But, in the end, Caropreso thinks that loss meant more to the 2014 Tigers than the No. 2 seed would have.

“That loss made our team better,” said Caropreso, a 1992 Los Banos graduate who played on the school’s last section championship team (1991). “I hope this win tonight can be a stepping stone for us.”

The Tigers went ahead 7-0 with 2:32 left in the first quarter on a 6-yard run by quarterback Adam Herrera.

On the Spartans’ ensuing possession, Jacob Geist sacked quarterback Ezekiel Orozco for an 8-yard loss on third-and-6, forcing Davis’ third punt of the night. Punter Talolo Limu-Jones, standing on his own goal line, faked the kick and took off running. He was brought down at the 6, well short of the first-down marker. A personal foul at the end of the play put the ball on the 3, and running back Daniel Fernandez waltzed in for a gift-wrapped TD that made it 14-0 with 30 ticks left in the opening stanza.

After Herrera and Fernandez each added 1-yard TD runs to make it 28-0, Los Banos made it 35-0 when Herrera hooked up with David Walker for an 8-yard TD strike with 6:04 remaining in the first half.

The Tigers were posed to add another TD before the half, but Herrera forced a pass in the middle of the field and Limu-Jones intercepted the ball to give Davis possession at its own 4 with 25 seconds to play.

The Spartans had just 24 yards of total offense in the first half.

Backup running back Kris Kyles scored from the 5 in the third quarter and quarterback Christian Corral broke loose for a 52-yarder to close the scoring.

“Ever since before I entered high school, I knew our senior year we were going to be great,” said Herrera. “I’ve played with so many of these guys in Pop Warner, I knew the talent was there. I think we’ve finally realized how great we can be.”

The Tigers will host archrival Dos Palos next week, while Davis travels to take face Weston Ranch.

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 3:28 AM with the headline "Los Banos overpowers Davis 48-0 to avenge last year’s one-point loss."