MidValleySports.Com

By. Tony Solorzano

Whittier – A fumble recovery by David Gomez with 58 seconds left in regulation preserved a victory for Santa Fe Friday night at Pioneer High’s Titan Stadium, keeping them tied atop the Del Rio League standings with Cal and La serna.

Gomez’s fumble recovery came after the Chiefs (4-3, 2-0) gave up a safety to the Dons (3-4, 0-2) with 1:16 left in the game, nearly closing a 12-point Chiefs lead after the Chiefs, on two occasions, erased 12-point leads by the Dons.

“I told the kids, this game is like life, a lot of ups and down, and twists and turns,” said Chiefs coach David Pierson after the game. “I take my hat off to El Rancho, they really gave u a game tonight.”

The Dons took the lead early on a quarterback Joey Sanchez scored the first two touchdowns of the game, a three-yard keeper with 8:25 left and a one-yard run with 12:$5 left in the quarter. However the Chiefs responded 21 seconds later as quarterback Christian Lara tossed a 66-yard strike to Justin Retiz to close out the first quarter down 13-7.

Joey Garcia would increase the lead to 19-7 midway through the second on a 12-yard run, but the Chiefs would eventually erase that lead. They cut the deficit to 19-14 on Lara’s second touchdown pass, a 62-yard strike to Brandon Takata with 5:11 left in the half. Then midway through the third, Gabriel Cisneros scored form a yard out to give the Chiefs a 22-19 lead with 7:26 left in the quarter.

The Dons would respond immediately as Garcia fielded the ensuing kickoff at the Dons’ one-yard line and literally crashed through the Chiefs’ special teams defense for a 99-yard score. Sanchez’ run on the extra point gave the Dons a 27-22 lead. Less than two minutes later, Sanchez would score again, another one-yard keeper, increasing the Dons’ lead back up to 12, this time 34-22.

As the third ended, the Dons turned the ball over on downs as kicker Jose Portillo got a bad snap on a punt attempt and fell on it on the Dons’ 23-yard line, giving the Chiefs excellent position as the fourth started. On their first play of the drive, Lara found Charles Muhlenkamp wide open on the right side, tossing a 23-yard score with only 12 seconds elapsed in the fourth. Less than three minutes later, Muhlenkamp would score again, this time on a halfback option throw from Retiz, who hit him for a 29-yard score with just over eight minutes left in the game and a 37-34 lead. About three minutes later, Lara would increase the lead as he executed a perfect fake hand off and raced down the left side, virtually untouched, running 41 yards for the score, putting the Chiefs up 44-32 with 4:58 left.

The Dons began their comeback immediately as Sanchez drove the Dons 46 yard for a score, a three-yard keeper with 3:02 left. The Chiefs then were stymied on the ensuing drive as they were stalled on their own 27-yard line when another bad snap sailed over the head of kick Eddie Mendez, roilling into the end zone. Mendez ran after the ball and kicked it out of the end zone for the safety, giving the Dons a golden opportunity to get the ball back with just over a minute left in the game.

However, after Mendez’ kick planted the Dons on their own 40-yard line, Sanchez fumbled the snap and David Garcia recovered the fumble with 58 seconds left in the game, preserving the wild win.

Both quarterbacks ended up as their respective teams’ leading rushers on the night with Lara carrying 12 times for 146 yards and a touchdown, while Sanchez carried 29 times for 120 yards and four scores. Lara’s passing was negligible, making only five completions for 12 yards, while Lara completed six of 10 passes for 170 yards and three scores. Both Muhlenkamp and Rakata were top receivers on the night, each catching three passes for 64 and 69 yards, respectively and combining for three touchdowns, Retiz had the one catch for the 66-yard score, but also completed one of two passes for 29 yards, the score to Rakata.

The Dons return to Ernie Johnson Field to host the La Serna Lancers in an attempt to keep their playoff hopes alive while the Chiefs head to Whittier District field for a showdown with the Cal Condors.