Rangers keep on rolling, score 28-12 win over Riverside Prep

Santa Rosa Academy's Luke Hamilton moves in for a quarterback sack. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The Santa Rosa Academy Rangers proved their worth again Thursday night, showing their home fans that they can pretty much handle anything thrown at them on the football field.

Holding a 4-1 non-league record coming out of a bye week, the Rangers spent a short prep week planning to defend the solid running attack that Riverside Prep has shown all season. Instead, they found themselves facing a Silver Knights squad that primarily passed the ball – or tried to. Making adjustments quickly, Santa Rosa pretty much shut down the visitor’s aerial game.

Riverside Prep did strike for two touchdowns on long passes, but overall, quarterback Daniel Gutierrez completed only 7 of 20 throws. Meanwhile, SRA quarterback Jacob Goode ran for 167 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 115 yards and a TD as the Rangers scored a 28-12 victory in their league opener.

Coach Perry Jones, coach of a team that is now 5-1 overall and 1-0 in league, had no problem identifying the two most outstanding aspects of the Rangers’ performance.

“First, the ability to run the ball,” Jones said about the Rangers, who piled up 244 yards rushing as a team. “Whenever we needed to get six yards, we were able to get it -- sometimes more. Toward the end, we were just trying to run the clock out, but they collapsed and we ended up scoring a touchdown.

“Then there was the defense. They were amazing. [The Silver Knights] were throwing every down. We gave up two big throws, but we knocked a lot of them down and they missed a lot. We put the pressure on them a lot. If you’re going to do that for four quarters, you have a good chance.

“We thought they were going to run it all night, because that’s all they’ve shown. Then they come out and throw the ball. Once our guys got used to playing our normal defense, it was like, ‘OK, take your chances. We’ll take our chances, but you’ve got to take yours.’”

Santa Rosa wasted no time taking control of things. On the opening drive of the game, the Rangers marched 79 yards down the field and scored on a 24-yard pass from Goode to Chris Ramirez for a 6-0 lead, And on Riverside Prep’s first possession, the Silver Knights were able to move the ball forward only 23 yards before having to punt.

The Rangers made it 14-0 on their next possession, with Goode capping off a 79-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, followed by a two-point PAT pass to Nate Bock for a 14-0 lead. That was the score as the first half ended.

Riverside Prep needed just five plays to get on the scoreboard at the start of the third quarter, however. One of only two big pass plays – 24 yards from Gutierrez to Ethan McClain – accounted for a touchdown, but the PAT attempt failed and the Rangers held onto a 14-6 lead.

Goode went to work again, leading the Rangers on a 57-yard scoring drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by Goode and two-point conversion for a 22-6 lead. The play Jones referred to late in the game was a 15-yard TD run by Goode. Riverside Prep’s only other highlight was a 60-yard touchdown pass from Gutierrez to Zander Peyton.

Goode knew who to praise after the game.

“Honestly, those receivers blocking, the O line blocking, the catches guys made … I don’t where we’d be without them,” he said. “Chris Ramirez had a diving catch that saved me.

“The O line’s amazing. They know what they’re doing every time, and they give us a lot of confidence.”

Jones’ only real concern was about multiple penalties taken by the offense, primarily for illegal procedure and holding. There were a couple of personal fouls, too, but the coach had a different take on those.

“The personal fouls and stuff … I don’t know if I ever want them to not play physical,” he said. “If we’ve got one thing going for us, it’s our ability to play physical, no matter who shows up. That’s a kid playing hard.”

Santa Rosa Academy quarterback Jacob Goode follows his blockers. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

Ian Taylor finds some running room during Thursday's game. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

Tyler Quaintance defends against Riverside Prep receiver Nick Beltran. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)