The Capuchino football team was embroiled in controversy last week. Head coach Adam Hyndman dismissed his starting quarterback and the situation resulted in the Mustangs' worst outing of the season, a 6-0 loss to Carlmont in which Capuchino managed only 43 yards of offense.
A week later, things stabilized and the Mustangs gave Terra Nova all it could handle. The Capuchino defense held the Tigers to just 195 yards of offense. But three Capuchino turnovers were the difference as Terra Nova converted them into 17 points, the differential in a 38-21 Terra Nova win.
Despite the loss, Hyndman was pleased to see his team compete.
"I'm very proud of the way we played," Hyndman said. "Overall, I can't say anything negative."
Capuchino (1-5 Bay Division, 1-7 overall) took it right to Terra Nova. The Mustangs forced a fumble on the Tigers' first play from scrimmage, taking over at the Terra Nova 24. After a 23-yard completion from Ricky Gonzalez - making just his second start at quarterback - to Philip Zavala took the ball to the 1, Eddie Tonga burrowed his way into the end zone for a 7-0 Capuchino lead.
The Capuchino defense forced a punt on Terra Nova's next possession, but a halfback pass from Jake Richardson was intercepted, giving the Tigers the ball at Capuchino's 32. It took only one play for Terra Nova to find the end zone when Anthony Hale - who accounted for 103 of the Tigers 195 yards - busted a 32-yard scoring run. A botched extra point kept Capuchino in the lead, 7-6.
On the ensuing kickoff, Zavala took the kick at his own 12 and burst up the middle, outrunning the Terra Nova coverage team for an 88-yard kickoff return, putting the Mustangs up 14-6.
"I'm really pleased with how we played today," Zavala said. "We just tried to put last week behind us. Special teams was flawless today. I was pleased with that because I'm on all the special teams."
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Terra Nova (5-1, 5-3) came right back to the score on its next possession, driving 65 yards on just four plays. The key play was a 47-yard catch-and-run by Hale that took the ball to the 3. Nico Rodriguez bulled his way into the end zone for the touchdown and a 2-point conversion from Omar Mahasin tied the score at 14.
Capuchino punt coverage failed on the Mustangs' next possession as they gave up a 67 punt return for a touchdown to Hale for a 21-14 Terra Nova lead with 6:40 left in the first half.
The Mustangs embarked on their longest drive of the first half on the next possession, starting from their 37 and driving down to the Terra Nova 36 before misfiring on fourth down with under a minute left in the half.
The teams exchanged punts to start the second half but a Hale interception gave Terra Nova the ball at the Mustangs' 23. The Capuchino defense stiffened, allowing only a 26 yard field goal to Phil Robleto for a 24-14 Tigers lead.
The Tigers put the game away with two touchdowns in the first 2:30 of the fourth quarter. Hale's third touchdown of the game came on a Bryan Powers 12-yard toss and Andrew Cagle's 70-yard interception return for a score put Terra Nova up 38-14 with 9:30 left.
The Mustangs did not give up, however. Starting from their own 33, Capuchino went on the longest drive of the day for either team. The Mustangs used 13 plays and over nine minutes off the clock to drive down the field and score on a Ramy Salah 2-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left in the game.
"[That final score] just gives us so much more confidence," Zavala said. "It's so much better finishing with our heads up instead of down."
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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