Colusa runs past Pierce

The ache encompassed the home crowd as though Colusa High running back Carlos Gutierrez had punched each of them in the gut.

He might as well have after delivering the decisive blow, a 65-yard touchdown jolt that put the Redskins (7-4) firmly back in the lead 21-7 just 49 seconds after Pierce (6-5) had pounded its way back into the game with a nine-play, 73-yard scoring drive on its first possession of the second half.

"The big play of the game was when we couldn't stop them after we drove down the field to make it 14-7, and then they broke off that big one," Pierce coach Roy Perkins said.

"We just couldn't make that big stop when we needed to."

Colusa, in its first playoff appearance in 10 years, advanced to the semifinals of the Northern Section Division III playoffs with a 31-21 victory at Gregg LeMaster Field in Arbuckle Friday night.

"Our goal was to get into the playoffs this year," Colusa coach Bob Miller said. "I was getting a little worried about that with all the injuries, but we got there."

Gutierrez's scamper — the second of three touchdowns for the senior, who finished with 234 yards on 25 carries — left the Bears not only chasing Colusa, but the clock and dreams of what might have been.

It was a question that lingered in the crisp, clear night like the sound of the train whistle that blew moments after Gutierrez had crossed into the end zone on his big touchdown run.

Pierce dropped four critical passes in the first half — two that would have gone for touchdowns — and one just six minutes into the game.

"If they caught just half of those, it would have been us that would be going home," Miller said.

Colusa took a 7-0 lead with 24 seconds left in the first quarter, a touchdown that had to look pretty familiar to the Redskins faithful.

"We had run that play a couple of times this year and every time we ran it, we scored a touchdown," said senior wideout Geoff McPherson.

The play is really a simple out-pattern, but with the success of the ground attack, the play action to the center of the line, and the precise route running by McPherson, quarterback Jeremy Hernandez had a wide open target to find for the 16-yard touchdown pass.

Luis Benitez booted the first of his four extra points. He would add an important 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to make it a 24-7 game.

Benitez also had a 46-yard try bounce off the crossbar in the second period.

Colusa, which finished with 400 yards of offense — 372 on the ground, made it 14-0 on a 75-yard burst by Gutierrez at the 6:41 mark of the second quarter. It was set up by McPherson's interception.

Pierce made its run back into the game after forcing the Redskins to punt on the opening possession of the second half.

Starting on their own 27, Rudy Godinez (13 carries, 89 yards) broke loose for a 16-yard gain to open the drive. He added a 25-yard run later in the possession to put the ball on the Colusa 5, and three plays later, Jaime Moreno pushed it across from the 1.

Clearly the momentum had shifted. Pierce had come out of the locker room ready to throw its own punches, and perhaps avenge the 21-0 loss it had taken at the hands of the Redskins during the regular season as well.

But McPherson said Colusa was not looking past the Bears.

"We knew we had beaten them earlier, but we had to keep that down. This was the playoffs," McPherson said.

Benitez added his field goal less than two minutes into the fourth quarter to pad the advantage to 17 points, but Pierce was not done just yet.

Jake Driver found Kyle Duncan on a 39-year aerial strike, that was eerily similar to the first-quarter play that ended with Duncan dropping the pass.

Gutierrez kept the Bears at bay with a 1-yard plunge to make it 31-14, capping a nine-play, 77-yard drive that ate up 4:08 off the clock. Hernandez had back-to-back scrambles for 51 yards in the drive.

Vicente Gutierrez also had a big fourth quarter for Colusa, rushing for 74 yards on five carries. He finished with 79 yards on the night.

Driver connected with Andrew Diaz on an 18-yard strike to make it 31-21 with 2:51 to play, but a Pierce player touched the onside kick before it had gone 10 yards, and the comeback hopes slipped away.