In game with thin margin of error, Windsor makes key plays to beat Vintage in thrilling Redwood Empire-Adobe contest
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Momentum is everything. With just a play or two, a game can change in an instant and that can be the difference.
In Friday’s Redwood Empire-Adobe game, this was especially true as Windsor outlasted Vintage, 14-7, in a thriller at Memorial Stadium.
The first mistake was more of an amazing play than a mistake. Nonetheless, it all happened when Jaguars defensive end Semere Berhe picked off a pass to give Windsor the ball shortly before the half. The thing that made this play impressive was that he made a last-ditch effort to get his hands up and hawked the ball into his hands.
Another deciding factor was a muffed punt that led to the game-winning score and forced a sudden change moment for the defense after they had just got a key stop.
“I mean, we just made more mistakes than they made,” Vintage head coach Dylan Leach pointed out. “So they played a little bit more mistake-free than we did, and that was the difference in the ball game.”
Throughout the game, Windsor (6-2, 1-2 REC-Adobe) was able to wear down the Crusher defense. But the main reason for this was their bruising running back, Wyatt Morris, who moved the chains at key times.
Morris also rushed 26 times for 132 yards in the game. The senior also had the Jaguars only two scores in the contest.
“He’s a tough kid,” Leach said of Morris and the impact he had on the contest. “He’s a hard runner. We knew that going in. He’s just a really good runner.”
His first score came with 27 seconds left in the first half from 4 yards out. It also knotted things up at the break.
But in the second half, he began to lean on the Crushers as he was ripping off longer runs and keeping the defense on the field in this physical game.
Vintage (5-3, 1-2 REC-Adobe) had the momentum for the whole first half as they were able to play keep away in the first half. They also were able to open up the scoring with a long 68-yard drive that took five minutes off the clock. It culminated when Bo Lode plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give the Crushers an early lead.
“It’s a gritty group,” Leach reiterated of his squad of hard-nosed kids. “We knew that going in. I have no qualms at all about how hard they play. They play hard. They gave it everything they had. We just didn’t have as much as they had tonight.”
In the game, Lode carried the ball 6 times for 18 yards. But he has the unique ability to be both a bruising back and a speed back all at once.
“He’s just an elusive kid that isn’t afraid to go and put his nose in there,” Leach said of Lode. “So against teams like this, you’re gonna need a guy that can is not afraid to go through the middle and make some plays.”
Otherwise, they were also able to move the ball by moving Ruben Sanchez all over the formation and feeding him the ball. The junior had 5 catches for 63 yards in the game.
The Crushes played tons of solid defense to keep them in the contest throughout the game. Every time Windsor started to get their offensive footing, the defense bowed down and made a stop to keep the game close. This goes along with the fight that they have shown all year.
Both teams will continue the Meatgrinder league schedule next week. Vintage will visit San Marin in Novato at 7 pm on Friday and Windsor will visit Rancho Cotate next week as well.
