Vacaville rallies to claim section football title
SACRAMENTO — Let no one doubt the toughness of the 2011 Vacaville high football team.
That toughness brought the Bulldogs their second Sac-Joaquin Section championship in five years Saturday night with a 39-35 victory over No. 6 Folsom in the SJS Division II title game at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium.
It was sweet revenge for Vacaville, which suffered a 75-6 drubbing at Folsom’s hands in the second round of playoff action last year. Folsom went on to win the D-II state championship.
Melvin Mason was the offensive hero for Vacaville, rushing for 111 yards and the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
It was the defense that did the most important work, slowing down Folsom’s star quarterback Tanner Trosin in the second half.
Vacaville’s Jacob Te’o intercepted Trosin twice and the defense as a whole stopped him behind the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-five with less than three minutes to play, preserving the lead.
Vacaville defensive end Johnny Schupp finished with seven tackles and the only sack of Trosin. Timmy Scott led with nine tackles total.
Trailing 28-20 into the third quarter, Vacaville managed a huge defensive stop when Te’o picked off Trosin at midfield.
Ten plays later, Vacaville capitalized with a 2-yard Curtis Goins sweep to make it a 28-26 ballgame.
Vacaville lost starting quarterback Colmen Christensen on the failed 2-point conversion pass.
That hardly slowed Vacaville down, though.
Folsom went up 35-26 on a 2-yard keeper by Trosin with 2 minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the third before Vacaville added a pair of unanswered TDs sandwiched around Te’o’s second interception of the game.
Vacaville got within 35-33 with a 27-yard run by Terrance Trueblood to end the third quarter.
Te’o’s pick at the Vacaville 5 set up a 95-yard scoring drive that gave Vacaville its first lead of the game.
Melvin Mason bowled through the Folsom defense for a 2-yard score and a 39-35 lead after the failed 2-point run.
It was a shootout from the get-go as Folsom wasted little time in getting on the board.
Trosin hit J’Juan Muldrow for the opening score on a 10-yard pass with 4:47 to play in the first quarter.
Vacaville responded to open the second quarter, capping an 11-play, 58-yard drive with a 16-yard TD run by Goins. Reed White’s initial conversion kick missed, but a roughing penalty on Folsom gave him another shot, which he converted for the 7-7 tie with 11:04 to play.
Four plays into the following possession, Trosin connected with Muldrow for 12-yard gain, but the Vacaville defenders knocked the ball loose and recovered it for a first down at their own 49.
Vacaville looked sure to take the lead when Christensen found a wide-open T.J. Fischer for a 45-yard pass play, but a Folsom defender tripped up the receiver and he fumbled the ball and Folsom recovered.
After nearly dragging Trosin down for a safety, the Folsom QB showed why he’s among the top at his craft in the nation, hitting Muldrow for a 99-yard TD pass and a 14-7 lead.
That pass gave Trosin the state single-season passing record, and he finished the game with 407 yards on 27-of-42 passing.
Of those, 300 came in the first half.
Not to be outdone, however, Vacaville’s Jacob Te’o fielded the ensuing kickoff at his own 2, drifted left and exploded down the side for a 98-yard touchdown return to tie it again.
Folsom again took the lead on the next possession as Trosin again connected with Muldrow for an 11-yard TD pass and a 21-14 lead with 6:47 left in the half.
Again, Vacaville answered on the following possession, driving 78 yards on 15 plays and capping it with a 2-yard scoring dash by Melvin Mason, who ducked behind Goins and plowed through the Folsom defense to pay dirt. White’s kick was blocked, leaving it 21-20 with 2:37 left before the break.
That was plenty of time for Folsom, however, as Trosin marched his team 71 yards on seven plays for a 27-yard scoring pass to Muldrow with 58 seconds left in the half.
Vacaville now awaits the results of the state Bowl game seeding, although the season opening loss to Marin Catholic may hurt the Bulldogs’ chances.
Reach Mike Corpos at 427-6979, or mcorpos@dailyrepublic.net.
Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=113896
Posted by Mike Corpos
on Dec 4 2011.
Filed under Featured Sports, Featured Stories, High school, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
it shouldnt. they trying to give it to del oro and we beat 2 teams in theyre league. granit bay and roseville. and we lost a preseason game and so did they. so you tell me who should go…
Both have legitimate claims. I am just telling you that it is political at this point and not necessarily logical.