|
       |
|
Golden Valley capitalizes on Turlock mistakes, earns CCC victory
MERCED – With star tailback A.C. McGhee nursing a variety of ailments, the Golden Valley offense struggled during the third quarter of last Friday’s (Oct. 15) Central California Conference opener against Turlock. McGhee entered the contest with 942 rushing yards in the Cougars’ first five games, but suffered a hip pointer and a hand injury against a tough Bulldog defense.
Undaunted, the Cougar defense stepped up, forcing three second-half turnovers, while the Golden Valley special teams also forced a turnover. It added up to a hard-fought 20-12 league victory over the defending co-champs, improving Golden Valley to 6-0 overall (1-0 CCC), while Turlock falls to 2-4 (0-1 CCC) with its fourth consecutive defeat.
After taking a 14-6 lead into halftime, the Cougars were limited to a minus-one yard of offense in the third quarter. However, they turned the tide in the fourth quarter, holding the ball for 10:02 during their two drives of the quarter. The first, an eight-play, 38-yarder chewed up 4:18, and was capped by Darius Roland’s six-yard touchdown run. The drive was set up when GV defensive end Oscar Ochoa recovered a Turlock fumble.
After the Bulldogs drove into Golden Valley territory on the ensuing drive, Cougar cornerback Ernie Harris picked off a pass by Turlock quarterback Cameron Martin at the 15-yard line to halt the threat. That came with 5:44 remaining in the contest, and it was the last time the Bulldog offense would see action as the Cougars methodically ran off the remaining time on the clock.
The key play of the Cougars’ final drive came with under two minutes to play. With Turlock out of timeouts, Golden Valley chose to go for a first down on a fourth and inches play from the Bulldog 49, rather than punt it away. Quarterback Reid Herchenbach was stuffed for no gain on a sneak up the middle, but rather than going down, the junior signal-caller bounced to the right, regained his balance, and scampered around right tackle for three yards and a game-ending first down.
“I just saw an opening and spun to the outside,” Herchenbach said.
Golden Valley never trailed in the contest, and got on the board first on a 15-yard pass from Herchenbach to sophomore tight end Kyle McMillin with 1:56 left in the first quarter. The third-down play capped an impressive 11-play, 72-yard drive that consumed 4:44 seconds. Ryan Arnsberg’s point-after kick made it 7-0. McGhee picked up 28 yards on six carries on the drive, while Darius Roland gained 29 yards on three carries.
The Bulldogs answered back just before halftime. Taking over at the GV 31 following a short punt with just 1:32 left in the half, Turlock found the end zone when Martin Marroquin hauled in a 24-yard pass from Cameron Martin. Tim Ayuso blocked the extra-point attempt by Turlock’s Colin Breshears, leaving Golden Valley in front 7-6.
|
|
