Dons escape with win

"Can you believe it?" asked Aragon coach Steve Sell. "Living right, I guess."

That was as good an explanation as any. Aragon (3-1 Bay Division, 4-4 overall) rolled up 444 yards of offense, but six turnovers nearly negated the Dons' effort. The Dons caught a break even when they were at their lowest. Terra Nova (1-3, 4-4) had just returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown to put the Tigers up 20-14 with 7:45 left to play. On the extra-point attempt, Aragon's Randy Santos came off the left edge untouched and smothered the kick attempt.

Aragon dodged another bullet when on its next possession, the Dons fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage, which they recovered. On the next play, they weren't as fortunate as Aragon quarterback Sam Tuivailala threw his fourth interception of the game as the Tigers took over at the Dons' 26. Terra Nova got as far as the Aragon 18 before moving backward. A holding call and a false start moved the Tigers back to the 32. On fourth and long, they lined up for a 49-yard field goal attempt. Juan Garcia's attempt had the distance but was wide left, giving Aragon the ball at its own 20 with 4:51 to play.

Aragon, which has relied on the pass much more this season than in year's past, reverted to the one thing the Dons have been known for -- a punishing rushing attack. After a first-down completion to Alex Sortwell for 20 yards, the Dons alternated between tailback Isaiah Harris, fullback Matu'u Pulotu and Tuivailala to methodically drive down the field. On first down from the Terra Nova 6, Harris took a toss left, cut up field and dove for the end zone, extending the ball over the goal line for the touchdown. Kian Solomon drilled the extra point to give Aragon a 21-20 lead with 1:42 left to play.

"[Terra Nova] was taking away the inside run and that's usually where we make our hay," Sell said. "We found the right spot (on the game-winning drive). It was open in one particular place and we started blocking better."

Terra Nova still had time to drive into field goal position. On a fourth down at the Tigers' 41, it appeared Aragon had gotten the stop when Josh Fale batted down a ball. A flag was thrown and the drive was kept alive when the Dons were whistled for roughing the passer. Facing fourth down again, Terra Nova quarterback Carl Cox connected with Demario Perry for 13 yards and another first down at the Aragon 37. One play after a 3-yard completion to Jesus Santiago, Aragon linebacker David Mitchell stepped in front of a Cox pass for an interception to ice the game.

"This is a football team that has been missing one-third of its starting lineup," said Terra Nova coach Bill Gray, adding the Tigers' have lost three Bay Division games by a combined six points.

"You can't fault their effort. You can't fault their determination," Gray continued. "They deserve better. We need to find a way, as coaches, to reward these guys."

Not that Terra Nova didn't shoot itself in the foot as much as the Dons. The Tigers turned the ball over five times themselves as neither team seemed to find a rhythm offensively. In the first half, Aragon's first turnover led to Terra Nova's first score. Darrin Pryce intercepted a Tuivailala pass at the Aragon 36 and three plays later, the Tigers found paydirt when Cox, filling in for an injured Julian Bernard, scampered 10 yards for a 7-0 Terra Nova lead.

Early in the second quarter, Aragon finally got on the scoreboard. After the Aragon defense used a goal-line stand to stop Terra Nova at the 2, the Dons drove 98 yards on nine plays. Josh Fale, who finished with five catches for 106 yards, had a 43-yard catch-and-run on the second play of the drive and then capped it with a tough, 27-yard, over-the-shoulder catch for a score to tie the game at 7.

Aragon got the ball back when Fale intercepted a pass on Terra Nova's next play from scrimmage, but gave it right back on Price's second interception of the game, giving his team the ball on their own 34. Four plays later, Jesus Santiago scored on a 9-yard run to put Terra Nova up 14-7.

It stayed that way until Aragon tied the score again late in the third quarter. The Dons drove 74 yards on 12 plays with Tuivailala scoring on a 1-yard plunge.

"Terra Nova did some good things. We made some bad decisions. Terra Nova is so well coached they force you to your second and third options. We were off. That first half was the worst half of football we've played all year. I think our kids were overconfident. I think they were unfocused," Sell said. "Sometimes you win games you should lose."