Del Oro's JVs top Granite Bay

The old sports axiom that "there is no 'I' in the word team" played out handsomely last Friday night for the Del Oro High School junior varsity football team.Putting its wealth of depth on display, the shorthanded Golden Eagles overcame a bevy of obstacles to have enough in the gas tank to handle Granite Bay's Grizzlies to the tune of 38-7.The win kept the Golden Eagles perfect on the season with a record of 8-0. More importantly, the victory boosted Del Oro's Sierra Foothill League record to 3-0 and sets up Friday's battle with second place Roseville (6-1, 2-1). Roseville stayed in the SFL title hunt by blasting Nevada Union, 42-15, last Friday."It's a very big game for both teams," said Del Oro coach Jerry Van Lengen. "This is basically our championship game." Del Oro entered Friday's game with several key performers on the sidelines nursing injuries and when the visiting Grizzlies returned a Golden Eagle pass 45 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead, things looked bleak early on for the Black and Gold. But good football teams usually find ways to answer adversity and that's exactly what the Golden Eagles did."We didn't play great early on but we hung in there," said Van Lengen. "We had some players step up and do a good job for us." On its ensuing possession after Granite Bay's early score, Del Oro caught fire as Jahann Nargussi, who would later depart because of an ankle injury, took a wildcat snap and went 60-yards for a score. Mason Humes booted the extra point to knot the game at 7-7.Quarterback Michael Moore then got into the act for the Golden Eagles as he scored on a 17-yard touchdown run and then had another 31-yard scramble that led to a clutch 40-yard field goal just before halftime by Humes. That made the score 17-7.In the second half, hard running from Johnathon Tuttle and Shane Peterson kept the Del Oro momentum rolling which helped lead to an 18-yard scoring aerial from Moore to Daniel Becker.Peterson then was in the spotlight as he scored Del Oro's next two touchdowns — one on a fumble recovery after Granite Bay botched a Golden Eagles kickoff, and the other on a 63-yard run.Defensive standouts for the Golden Eagles included Peterson, Jake Noah and Brian Leveille.~ Staff reportSFL JVFootballW LDel Oro 3 0Roseville 2 1Rocklin 2 1N. Union 1 2G. Bay 1 2W.creek 0 3 Last week's ResultsDel Oro 38, G. Bay 7Roseville 42, N. Union 15Rocklin 33, Woodcreek 14