The Ripon Christian Knights were no strangers to the Denair Coyotes.
In recent years, the two teams clashed in non-conference play.
But this one Friday counted in the Southern League standings.
Host Denair (2-1, 3-3 overall), led by Dylan Souza, who had a game-high 198 yards on 19 carries and five touchdowns, rolled to a 64-33 victory over visiting Knights.
Ripon Christian (0-2, 0-6) made it a game, 33-26, closing to within a touchdown after the 54-yard scoring run by sophomore Zach Davis in the third quarter.
“We made a nice little comeback, but then we had some costly turnovers,” said Knight coach John Vander Schaaf.
One of the turnovers resulted into an 18-yard fumble recovery for a score in the fourth quarter by Denair’s Collin Sosa.
The Coyotes jumped out to a 20-0 lead early on thanks to Brad Tobin’s 30-yard run coupled with a 67-yard scamper by Souza.
Paul Oei added a pair of field goal to increase the margin.
Ripon Christian finally scored midway in the second quarter on a 4-yard run by Tim Ignacio. He added another touchdown as the Knights trailed at the halftime, 33-13.
The Knights opened the second half on Isaac Norman’s 93-yard kickoff return.
Denair saw its lead dwindle but rebounded with a 17-point fourth quarter.
“I loved the way our kids played (against the Coyotes),” Vander Schaaf said. “We had a tough time stopping them and they had a tough time stopping us.”
The Knights racked up 383 yards, with 323 of those coming on the ground.
Davis had a team-high 124 yards on 14 carries while Ignacio picked up 76 yards on nine tries and scoring twice.
Denair had 483 yards, including 383 rushing and 145 passing.
Ripon Christian will travel to Delhi to face Turlock Christian next week.
In recent years, the two teams clashed in non-conference play.
But this one Friday counted in the Southern League standings.
Host Denair (2-1, 3-3 overall), led by Dylan Souza, who had a game-high 198 yards on 19 carries and five touchdowns, rolled to a 64-33 victory over visiting Knights.
Ripon Christian (0-2, 0-6) made it a game, 33-26, closing to within a touchdown after the 54-yard scoring run by sophomore Zach Davis in the third quarter.
“We made a nice little comeback, but then we had some costly turnovers,” said Knight coach John Vander Schaaf.
One of the turnovers resulted into an 18-yard fumble recovery for a score in the fourth quarter by Denair’s Collin Sosa.
The Coyotes jumped out to a 20-0 lead early on thanks to Brad Tobin’s 30-yard run coupled with a 67-yard scamper by Souza.
Paul Oei added a pair of field goal to increase the margin.
Ripon Christian finally scored midway in the second quarter on a 4-yard run by Tim Ignacio. He added another touchdown as the Knights trailed at the halftime, 33-13.
The Knights opened the second half on Isaac Norman’s 93-yard kickoff return.
Denair saw its lead dwindle but rebounded with a 17-point fourth quarter.
“I loved the way our kids played (against the Coyotes),” Vander Schaaf said. “We had a tough time stopping them and they had a tough time stopping us.”
The Knights racked up 383 yards, with 323 of those coming on the ground.
Davis had a team-high 124 yards on 14 carries while Ignacio picked up 76 yards on nine tries and scoring twice.
Denair had 483 yards, including 383 rushing and 145 passing.
Ripon Christian will travel to Delhi to face Turlock Christian next week.
