SAN RAMON – The Pittsburgh High School soccer crew piled up yards however had a tough time pulling away from California on Friday night time in a nonleague recreation between two of the East Bay’s unbeaten groups.
Part of that was due to the Grizzlies’ tenacity. The Pirates’ personal miscues additionally performed a task.
Pittsburg lastly delivered the knockout blow early within the fourth quarter when Khai Taylor caught a reasonably 59-yard landing go from quarterback Jaden Rashada, placing the ending touches on a 34-14 win for the Pirates forward of subsequent week’s showdown with Folsom.
Rashada threw two different landing passes, together with a 66-yarder to Rashid Williams early within the fourth quarter, in simply over three quarters of labor because the Pirates improved to 3-0 after a formidable 30-2 win over Liberty-Henderson (Nev.) final week.
“I was hoping it wasn’t going to be a trap game,” Pirates coach Victor Galli stated. “Hats off to (California). They’re gonna be one of many prime groups when it’s all stated and performed, making some noise within the playoffs.
“I think we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit.”
“That was actually one of the most disciplined teams we’ve played so far,” Rashada stated of the Grizzlies. “They were always in their spots, doing their jobs. So we had to just be a little more patient and wait for things to pop.”
Pittsburg ran up nicely over 500 yards of offense, with Rashada finishing 19 passes for 360 yards. Williams and Taylor mixed for 277 yards receiving.
But two Pirates turnovers deep in its personal territory resulted in California touchdowns.
The Pirates, main 13-0, fumbled the ball at their very own 29 late within the first quarter. Five performs later, Grizzlies senior Shane Frankenberger caught a 14-yard landing go from quarterback Jayden Macedo, marking the primary time Pittsburg has allowed an opponent to achieve the tip zone this season.
Another Pirates fumble led to a landing catch by Stavi Booras, because the Grizzlies reduce the result in 27-14 with 3:12 to go within the third quarter.
California wasn’t getting any nearer, although, as Pittsburg’s protection, which allowed simply two factors in its first two video games, didn’t permit a primary down on the Grizzlies’ final two possessions.
“I’m happy that we came out with a win,” Galli stated. “Definitely saw some good things, but also some things we need to improve on. Obviously, we’ve got a pretty formidable opponent coming up here.”
Folsom improved to 2-1 final Friday with a 65-0 win over Edison-Stockton and had a bye this week. The Bulldogs’ lone loss got here Aug. 26 at house to Serra-San Mateo.
Folsom beat Pittsburg 38-17 at house final season on its solution to a spot within the CIF 1-AA state championship recreation. Rashada, who has dedicated to Miami, was 15 of 42 for 194 yards within the recreation.
“We’ve just got to come prepared because with preparation comes confidence,” Rashada stated. “So I’m ready to go attack the week.”
California (2-1) was coming off spectacular wins over James Logan (31-7) and Milpitas (35-6) to begin the season. Friday, Macedo had 167 yards passing, and Booras had 5 catches for 58 yards.
“We’re a young team with a lot of juniors, so they were a little wide-eyed,” Grizzlies coach Danny Calcagno stated. “We’re not the biggest or fastest team, so we’ve got some work ahead. But I’m really happy that these kids battled, didn’t give up or get intimidated.”
California travels to play Antioch (1-2) subsequent week.
