Tough loss ends season for Pirates

Life's lessons don't always come easy.

The Pirates learned one the hard way in a 19-7 Northern Section Division II playoff loss to Central Valley on Friday night.

"We set goals for the season, and whether it's in football, work or family, sometimes we fall short and I had to tell them that tonight," said Wheatland High head coach Javier Lopez. "I'm proud of all my guys, they played hard all night."

Five turnovers, including an interception that was returned for a touchdown to open the second half, didn't help the Pirates' cause.

"We had turnovers at inopportune times, but we also had our opportunities to score, but we hesitated," Lopez said. "In a game like this you have to attack and we just didn't do that tonight."

Special teams was inept and offensive drives faded once into Central Valley territory, however, the Pirates' defense was stellar.

Central Valley's first four offensive possessions ended in two punts and two fumbles before the Falcons executed an 83-yard, 11-play touchdown drive, capped by a Tyler Naylor 4-yard reception from Brandon Perry. The six points was a tough pill to swallow for the Pirates, being that it was fourth-and-goal.

The 6-0 halftime score lasted only about a minute into the third quarter, however.

With Pirates' Jonnie Millington flushed out of the pocket, which became an all too familiar sight for the Wheatland faithful in the stands, the QB fired a pass that sailed just over fullback Clint Johnson and into the hands of Naylor, who sped down the sidelines from 25 yards out into the end zone.

The 12-0 lead immediately got the attention of the Pirates.

"That woke us up a little," Lopez said. "It definitely put us on our heels."

The Pirates' ensuing possession was like a wrecking ball.

Lacarlis Moore returned the kickoff to Wheatland's 42 and six plays later Moore ran off tackle into the end zone from 10 yards out.

Setting up the field position was a bruising 28-yard run by Johnson, which ended with a 15-yard penalty on the Falcons for using a horse-collar tackle.

Johnson ended his career like he started it — a hard-working truck.

The senior standout finished with 163 yards on the ground, some of which was thanks to some brutal lead blocking by Zach Downing and quality blocking by the offensive line in the first quarter. Johnson also had two tackles for losses on defense.

That offensive line wore down as the game wore on though, especially on passing plays.

The Falcons were led by C.J. Valdivia's 157 yards rushing on 24 carries — 127 of which came in the first half — and Mike Beaudette's 103 yards on 16 carries, including a 10-yard back-breaking rumble into the end zone which put the Falcons on top 19-7 with just 4:18 remaining in the game.

Downing had two tackles for losses, while Nate Livingston had two forced fumbles and two tackles for losses and Rodney Faupula had a fumble recovery and a tackle for a loss.