Twelve Bridges pulls away from Placer

The road to the Foothill Valley League football title runs through Lincoln, and on Friday night the visiting Placer Hillmen were the latest to take their shot at Twelve Bridges. The Raging Rhinos beat Placer twice last season, including a decisive win in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV semifinals, on their way to the program's first CIF NorCal Regional championship. The teams traded blows early, but the Rhinos took control in the second quarter, outscoring Placer 28-3 to cruise to a 49-24 victory. The Hillmen landed the first punch on the first play from scrimmage when freshman Chase Rodarte connected with Danny Sanchez-Harlow for a 61-yard touchdown pass. That play woke up the Rhinos, who rattled off 35 consecutive points to take control. "I'm proud of our kids," said Twelve Bridges coach Chris Bean. "This team is still learning how to stay humble and hungry. We were wondering just how hungry they are. Do they want that greatness? Do they want to win the league championship and beyond? We're struggling to understand that they got to play all four quarters. We got worked on the first play of the game." The game was broken open by junior Dylan Amos, who had interceptions on consecutive drives, both of which led to scores late in the first half. Amos had a 57-yard touchdown catch to cap an impressive first half, extending the Rhinos' lead to 35-7. "Dylan Amos just kind of does those things. He is such a baller," said Bean. "His interceptions really set the tone once again. That's kind of who we are. We are always trying to get an extra possession, but we've got a lot of things to clean up, too." Amos said someone had to step up and kick things into another gear because he knew the Hillmen wouldn't go down without a fight. "Our secondary really had to step up today. I thought we played a great game," said Amos, adding he still feels the Rhinos can reach another level. "I still think we have yet to play a complete game for four quarters. But when we are able to get going, we will be a hard team to beat." Twelve Bridges' offense was led by the backfield trio of Chase Whylidko, Matthew Marquez and Daniel Oamil Jr. Whylidko shouldered the majority of the workload, punishing Placer's defensive front for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Marquez ran for 105 yards on eight carries and Oamil added 37 yards and a scoring plunge. "Our offensive line was creating some holes. Placer had done a good job stopping some really nice wrinkles in a run game that we had added over the year," said Bean. " It forced us to really adjust and our offensive line handled it. Our running back room is deep and it's gonna be a problem for people because each one of those guys has a different skill set that can take it the distance." Twelve Bridges was equally efficient through the air. Senior quarterback Conner Frontiera passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns to Bradley Kirby and Amos. Six receivers recorded at least one catch. The Rhinos were sound defensively as well. The defensive front stuffed the Hillmen twice on fourth down to stop promising drives, each time with inches to spare. Bean stressed the importance of those stops, saying the game may have looked very different had the Hillmen gotten those extra inches. "Those are turnovers. When you stop them on fourth and a yard, in my mind and how we judge things, that's a turnover," said Bean. "To get two of those against Placer, those are massive plays and massive game changers." Despite playing from behind for most of the night, Placer showed plenty of fight and had a promising performance from Rodarte. The young signal caller looked poised on the road, completing 11 of 17 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Rodarte was sidelined for most of the second quarter after suffering an ankle injury but returned late and led a scoring drive to close the half. "Talk about a freshman stepping up, especially after severely hurting his ankle and coming back in," Hillmen coach Joey Montoya said. "He threw some great balls all night long, and we dropped the touchdown and we had one misfire that was like a freshman mistake. But the kid competed his heart out and gave us a chance to at least compete against these guys." Rodarte's performance did not go unnoticed by the Rhinos. Bean gave the young quarterback his nod of approval. "What an unbelievable kid to come back limping around and he is throwing darts like he did as a freshman," Bean said. "I have not seen something like that in a long time." Rodarte's top targets were Sanchez-Harlow, who had four catches for 121 yards, and Keilin Beverage with six catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. Montoya said the next three weeks are crucial if the Hillmen want to make the new reduced playoff field of eight teams. "Our backs are up against the wall now and we've got to get healthy because we've got three really tough teams still on the schedule," said Montoya. "We just got to regroup Monday, get healthy and go to work. I still believe this is a very good football team that still isn't even close to what it could be. We have yet to play a game at full strength. I'm proud of the kids that stepped up and stepped in and did their jobs and played their hearts out. We're gonna get healthy when it matters and we're gonna start playing great when it matters." Placer (4-3 overall, 1-1 FVL) visits Yuba City (4-3, 1-1) this week in a crucial matchup between postseason hopefuls. Twelve Bridges (7-0, 2-0) will put its 27-game regular-season winning streak on the line against Roseville (6-1, 2-0).