The Arroyo Dons beat the San Lorenzo Grizzlies in a convincing 43-9 victory at home Saturday, Nov. 9 in a Western Alameda County Conference (WACC) Shoreline league game. The Dons finished the season in a league second place improving to 8-2 overall and 4-1 in league to qualify for the North Coast Section (NCS) playoffs.
“We got the job done and it feels really good to qualify for the NCS playoffs which was our goal the whole season,” said Arroyo head coach Jeff Pride. “Offense wins games and defense wins championships and that’s what got us here today.”
In a crosstown rivalry called the ‘helmet game,’ these two teams look forward to this matchup every year because of the history between them being the only two schools in the city of San Lorenzo. Arroyo set the tempo early when starting running back Joseph Estes ran 78-yards for a touchdown to make it a 7-0 Dons lead in the first quarter.
“On that first touchdown I had, I saw the receiver go to block the defensive back and right then I knew I had to take off running not letting anyone touch me so I could put the first points on the board and make a statement,” said Arroyo starting running back Joseph Estes.
San Lorenzo responded in the second quarter when senior running back Rene Ramirez caught a pass for a touchdown, however Arroyo blocked the PAT to make the score a 7-6 Arroyo lead with 10:44 remaining in the first half. San Lorenzo settled for a field goal on their next possession to take a very surprising 9-7 lead to silence the Arroyo bleachers.
The Dons got the ball back again just before time expired in the second quarter. Estes proved to be the fuel to this Dons offense running in another touchdown on a first and goal with 43 seconds left to go into halftime with the 13-9 advantage. There was a visible regroup and refocus by Arroyo at halftime after they let San Lorenzo manage to keep the score so close.
“The message to our players at halftime was let’s just refocus,” said coach Pride. “We’ve built our offensive scheme around Estes because we know what he brings to the table and he came out here and proved that.”
Arroyo’s defense completely shut down San Lorenzo’s offense in the second half allowing no points from them. Willie Johnson and Estes both scored touchdowns in the third quarter to make it a 29-9 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Just when San Lorenzo was trying to score a touchdown deep in Dons territory, Arroyo’s Gabe Flores caught an interception at the six yard line to stop a potential scoring drive for the Grizzlies. The Dons offense set up Estes to run the length of the field for an impressive 94-yard rushing score for his fourth total touchdown of the evening to make the lead 35-9 with 11:37 remaining in the game. Estes finishes this regular season with a team high total of 18 touchdowns.
“I saw a wide open gap on the edge and I just took off and ran 94-yards for the touchdown,” said Estes about his last touchdown.
Johnson scored his second touchdown of the game halfway through the fourth quarter to seal the statement victory. Arroyo was able to spread the ball evenly with the pass and run game both proving effective and tiring out the San Lorenzo defense. They took over this game in all phases in the second half to give no doubt that they belong in the NCS playoffs this season.
“Joseph has been instilling confidence in us all year and we showed that we came to play today,” added Shelton. “We want to go out there into the NCS playoffs with the mentality to prove we belong and put our school on the map.”
The importance of winning this game has more implications for Arroyo as they seek to make a NCS playoff run and try to make history for their emerging program. This back to back win for the Dons after a bitter loss to league champion Alameda does a lot for their locker room mentality and momentum heading into week one of the playoffs.
“These two back to back wins feels good right now heading into NCS playoffs now we just have to keep doing what we do best and keep this momentum going,” said Estes.
The Dons face the St. Vincent de Paul Mustangs on Saturday, Nov. 16 on the road in Petaluma in round one of the NCS playoffs. The Mustangs are 9-1 overall and undefeated at 5-0 in their league Redwood Empire Bay. San Lorenzo ends their season 2-8 overall and 0-5 in the WACC Shoreline league.
