Matt Fregoso finds daylight
(Rosemead) The Rosemead Panthers(1-0) opened their 2010 season Friday night and needed two fourth quarter touchdowns to overcome a 6-3 deficit and beat the Montebello Oilers 17-13 at Rod Marinelli Stadium.
“Awe man we were making so many darn mental mistakes in the first half. We weren’t playing our style of ball. We settled down in the second half and got a win” commented Panther head coach Matt Koffler after the game.
The Oilers (0-1) got on the board first on an 18 yard field goal by Eric Guevarra. Guverra’s boot came after a seven play drive stalled at the Rosemead seven.
On fourth and long early in the second period, Montebello lined up for a punt and looked to pin the Panthers deep in their own end of the field. Guevarra’s kick bounded it’s way inside the Rosemead 20 yard line.
Looking to ignite a spark in his teammates, Matt Fregoso tried to catch the Oilers off guard an pick up the ball late. It didn’t work as he only got a couple of fingers on the ball. The ball bounced away and was pounced on by Montebello.
The Panther defense held the Oilers in check and Montebello had to settle for another Guevarra field goal. The 32 yarder was good and Rosemead trailed 6-0 with ten minutes left in the second quarter.
With time running out in the half he Panthers went on a nine play drive starting deep in their own end of the field at the ten. Chris Cancino got Rosemead on the board just before the teams headed to the locker room for halftime on a 34 yard field goal. The score was set up on a 33 yard pass from Matt Macias to Mike Chavez.
Both teams found the sledding tough and were unable to move the ball with much consistency in the third quarter.
Good teams manage to take advantage of turnovers and that’s just what happened early in the final frame.
A Cancino punt was muffed by Montebello at their own 25 yard line. The Panthers recovered the loose ball to give themselves excellent field position. Rosemead only needed five plays to cover those 25 yards as Macias found Danny Villalobos from two yards away. Cancino added the extra point and the Panthers had their first lead of the evening with 11:37 left to play
The lead was only short lived as the Oilers came right back on the ensuing drive marching 74 yards on seven plays. Robert Zaramorano hooked up with George Ramos on a 32 yard pitch and catch to put Montebello in the lead with 9:09 left to play.
An excessive celebration penalty on Ramos and a kickoff that went out of bounds set Panthers up for their next drive at mid-field.
On the fifth play of the drive Fregoso found a huge hole up the middle and burned his way 20 yards to paydirt giving Rosemead a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“Or offensive line took control in the second half and we got him behind them and kept giving him the ball. He’s a good football player.” commented Koffler on his starting tailback.
Summary:
M 3 6 0 7
R 0 3 0 14
1st Qtr (7:10) Montebello – Guevarra 18 yard field goal
2nd Qtr (10:01) Montebello – Guevarra 31 yard field goal
4th Qtr (11:37) Rosemead – Villalobos two yards from Macias (Cancino kick)
4th Qtr (9:09) Montebello – Ramos 32 yards from Zamorano (Guevarra kick)
4th Qtr (6:31) Rosemead – Fregoso 20 yard run (Cancino kick)
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