Vintage cruises past Oakland to get first win of season
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
It’s always nice to get that first win of the season. Sometimes, the first win comes in glorious fashion. That was the case on Friday night when Vintage beat Oakland 57-6 for their first win of the season.
The game had everything the Crushers needed to get back on track after two losses to begin the season.
However, another benefit from the game was that Vintage (1-2) was able to play a relatively clean game. It was something head coach Dylan Leach was happy about.
“We eliminated our penalties and we eliminated some execution things that hurt us last week in the Cardinal Newman game,” Leach explained. “So obviously excited about that and to get in the win column is better than the loss column.”
Vintage senior running back Diego Davis was happy to finally get the first win of the season as well.
“It was great,” Davis said. “After those first two losses, we played good (and) together today.”
The Crushers scored early and often in the game. But the player who benefited from all the scoring was Davis. He had four total touchdowns in the game, two from the air, and two on the ground.
“I’ve said this from the get-go. I feel Diego Davis is one of the best players in Northern California. I feel like he needs to get his do,” Leach said of the senior. “He’s one of the best linebackers we’ve ever had here in the middle and he’s so versatile. He’s a program kid, he does everything right. His nutrition is on point, his weight training is on point. His academics are on point. He’s the consonant Crusher. He’s our captain, he’s our leader. He’s the guy we look to. He’s the guy that I trust and he’s the guy that I will feature.”
Davis ended the night rushing just 5 times for 41 yards. Through the air, he caught three passes for 44 yards.
Vintage was also able to have their best game on the defensive side of the ball as well. On the night, they were able to rack up four sacks. They also held Oakland (0-2) to just one score on the night. In all, the Wildcats had -2 total yards rushing. They also held them to just 135 yards through the air.
Oakland also threw the ball on every offensive play they had, which was something new.
“It was really weird,” Davis said of all the passes. “I had no tackles today. I still had a pick, but I still had no tackles. It was weird just only pass plays, not a single run play.”
The Crushers limped into this game with a plethora of injuries. This game also proved to be a good chance for the coaches to see what they had behind the starters.
“We’re shooting for championships no matter who’s here, no matter who we’re teaching, no matter who we’re coaching, no matter who’s on the field,” Leach explained. “So we got to get over injuries, and the next guy’s got to step up and that’s just football.”
Vintage will be back in action next Friday night in their most important game of the season when they visit Casa Grande-Petaluma at 7 pm.
“They’re a good program,” Leach pointed out. “They’re coached very well. (Head coach) John (Antonio) does a good job over there with his staff.”
