Bear River shows improvement, produces a memory, in 'home' loss at Liberty Ranch

Tanner Mathias saw a ton of improvement in his Bear River football team Friday night, even though the scoreboard showed otherwise – and even when the lights went out briefly, illuminating the scoreboard even more. The Bruins, playing as the home team but sitting on the visiting side after the nonleague game was moved to Galt because of smoke from the Mosquito and other fires in the Placer County area, fell to Liberty Ranch 57-7 as an orange moon rose. The Hawks (4-0) were noticeably bigger across the offensive and defensive lines than Bear River (1-2) and blew open the game with four touchdowns – two 1-yard runs and two 50-yard pick sixes – during a 6½-minute blitz in the third quarter. But this was a different Bruins squad that lost to El Dorado 38-0 two weeks earlier, in the eyes of their coach. "We improved drastically between our El Dorado game and this week. I really appreciate that about our kids, and we worked hard," Mathias said, lauding Liberty Ranch as "a fantastic football team. I think they're gonna make it really far in the playoffs." Mathias like how Bruins running backs hit the holes, saying, "That was something we struggled with. We were guessing and not trusting our teammates." He pointed to quarterback Cole Stowers, who completed four of his first five passes and had a touchdown throw late in the first half. "He had a lot of completions out of the gate. He was on fire," Mathias said. "We gotta capitalize on those things." Junior Shaye Setter had the first interception return for a touchdown. Senior Cody Smith then stretched his 6-foot-7 frame to block a Bear River punt, setting up Arthur Draeger's second touchdown, a 1-yard dive. Smith, who attended several camps and visited college campuses this summer, immediately jumped in front of a Stowers pass at midfield and sprinted to the end zone to make it 48-7. The Bruins also allowed a safety when a high snap on a punt rolled out of the end zone. "We're getting more confident in our jobs, in our roles," Mathias said. "We just haven't cleaned up all the penalties and all the mistakes we're making." One of the many joys of high school sports is the lifetime memories, and Bear River produced one when Stowers lobbed a beautiful pass into the hands of senior Drake Woodford for a 39-yard touchdown with 51.9 seconds left in the first half. Woodford hopped, skipped, jumped and celebrated with his teammates as he returned to the sideline, then gleefully saying to Mathias, "Coach, thank you. You designed (the play) for me. It was such a perfect ball (from Stowers)." It was also Woodford's first reception in high school. Mathias said Woodford is a team captain, a team leader and a "great kid." "We've been prepping him to go. He's making plays in practice all the time, but never in a game," Mathias said. "We found an opportunity, and when we threw it to him, he made a play and it was awesome for him and his family." "Honestly, it was one of the best feelings of my life. I'm definitely going to remember that," Woodford said. "Coach saw if we ran the play we ran, I wouldn't really be covered. So it was like, 'Drake, you're gonna get the ball,' so I knew before the play. And then I caught the ball and I scored so that was pretty cool. Cole, he's one of my best friends. He's got a good arm." The Bruins produced other highlights, as sophomore Luke Jeffers recovered a fumble and senior Tyler Brenes had a 43-yard kickoff return to set up Bear River's touchdown. Adding to the fun a Friday night out at the local high school football game can bring, the lights went out with 4:57 remaining in the game, drawing oohs and aahs from the crowd and prompting many fans to light up their phones. There were cheers when the lights came on about 30 seconds later. LIBERTY RANCH 57, BEAR RIVER 7 Bear River&emsp;&emsp; 0 7 0 0 – 7 Liberty Ranch 7 14 27 9 – 57 LB – Arthur Draeger 1 run (Julian Rodriguez kick) LB – Armando Tapia 28 pass from Kymani Fenika (Rodriguez kick) LB – Draeger 61 pass from Fenika (Rodriguez kick) BR – Drake Woodford 39 pass from Cole Stowers (Tyler Brenes kick) LB – Gavin O'Brien 1 run (Rodriguez kick) LB – Shaye Setter 50 interception return (Rodriguez kick) LB – Draeger 1 run (kick failed) LB – Cody Smith 50 interception return (Rodriguez kick) LB – Safety, ball snapped out of end zone on Bear River punt LB – Dominic Perez 21 run (Rodriguez kick)