Del Oro gets back at Placer with 49-14 rout

Del Oro High School took last season's loss to Placer hard. The Golden Eagles took that setback, and their 2-8 record, all the way into the summer. "We let it affect our offseason. We were upset about it," head coach Josh Parry said Friday night, surrounded by exuberance at LeFebvre Stadium in Auburn after Del Oro rode big plays by its defense and special teams to a 49-14 rout of the Hillmen. "We worked, we understand what we're doing in the weight room. We understand we just couldn't come out and they're just going to give it to you. You gotta be disciplined every snap. You can't do somebody else's job; you gotta do yours. We focused a lot on that. I'm so proud of them because they listened. They bought in. They did everything that we asked." The Golden Eagles (2-0) emerged from their bye week with a three-and-out on defense, followed by a five-play, 58-yard touchdown drive, capped by a five-yard quarterback keeper by Nolen Sauve. Having taken a 7-6 lead on Danny Sanchez-Harlow's 65-yard touchdown ramble and Diego Rosel's extra-point kick with 9:42 left in the second quarter, the Hillmen (1-2) forced an immediate punt, but the Del Oro defense stepped up and turned the game. First, senior linebacker Victor Suarez ripped the ball from a Placer ball carrier and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead. Then, Sanchez-Harlow had the ball knocked from his grasp, and Del Oro senior Finn Burth fell on the fumble at the Del Oro 27-yard line. Managing the clock, Sauve completed 5 of 5 passes in chunks – 24 yards to junior Landen Parry, two 18-yards completions to junior Brennen Gibbs sandwiched around a 14-yard toss to 6-foot-6 senior Luke Galer, and finally a 15-yard scoring pass to senior Ashton Greenhalgh with 25 seconds remaining in the half for a 21-7 lead. "I'm proud of our defense for being aggressive, attacking the football," Parry said. "Second man in, first guy's got him wrapped up, we're going after the ball. That tells me they're hearing those little things in the game plan, and those things matter. You think it's the highlight play – no, it's that grind. They're just understanding the game more." Gibbs returned the second-half kickoff 80 yards and senior Brock Sherman ran up the middle 17 yards for a touchdown on the next play, and the rout was on. Greenhalgh scored his second touchdown on a five-yard interception return to make it 35-7, and quarterback Liam Grant was intercepted again on Placer's next possession by Suarez. Sherman cashed in that short drive with a five-yard touchdown run, his second of the night. "That was unexpected," Hillmen coach Joey Montoya said. "We gotta give them credit. This is one of those games where you're just going to watch it once and hope to never look at it again because I know we're a much better football team than we showed tonight." Del Oro outgained Placer 280-190 overall. Sherman rushed for 65 yards on 14 carries, and junior Sam Lawrence ran five times in a row for 55 yards, including a 39-yard burst and a 12-yard touchdown, on the Golden Eagles' final possession with a running clock. Sauve was 10 for 14 overall for 144 yards. The Hillmen rushed for 161 yards, led by Sanchez-Harlow with 79 yards on six carries, but committed four turnovers. Placer played without leading rusher Shaun Jones and seniors William Santamaria and Evan Sharples. "You gotta give Del Oro a lot of credit. They're a very, very good football team," Montoya said. "That front four on the defensive line, and their three linebackers, that's one of the best groupings we have ever seen, and I say that as being here 19 years." Del Oro hosts Palo Cedro-Foothill (0-2) in its home opener next Friday, Sept. 12. Placer visits Antelope (0-3), which lost 62-14 on Friday night at Sonora, Parry's high school alma mater. DEL ORO 49, PLACER 14 Del Oro 6 15 21 7 – 49 Placer 0 7 0 7 – 14 DO – Nolan Sauve 5 run (run failed) Placer – Danny Sanchez-Harlow 65 run (Diego Rosel kick) DO – Victor Suarez 35 fumble return (Brennen Gibbs pass from Sauve) DO – Ashton Greenhalgh 15 pass from Sauve (Reid Elam kick) DO – Brock Sherman 17 run (Elam kick) DO – Greenhalgh 5 interception return (Elam kick) DO – Sherman 5 run (Elam kick) DO – Sam Lawrence 12 run (Elam kick) Placer – Bobby Gregg 1 run (Rosel kick)