After digging themselves into an early deep hole, the Pointer football team was clinging to a final chance to extricate itself on a fourth-down play with only one minute remaining in last Friday’s nonleague game at home against South Bay’s Olympian High School.
Only minutes before, while trailing by seven (21-14), the Pointers had pounced on an Eagles fumble, with just 35 yards needed in the final 5:02 to tie the game.
The Dogs marched down the field before finding themselves in this do-or-die predicament. Senior quarterback Brenden Torrence then lobbed a high pass to the left side of the end zone, targeting 6-5 wide receiver Ken Watson.
But Eagles defender Brandon Ridgels, who stands 5-10, was able to leap high enough to swat the ball away and seal the victory for his team.
The loss leaves the Pointers with a 3-2 record, while the Olympian Eagles improve to 4-1.
The result was a bitter pill for the Pointers to swallow after their defense stopped the Eagles time after time for nearly three quarters while their offense tested the visitors but was only able to add scores just before and after the break.
The first setback for the Pointers came on their opening drive when a fumble was snagged by an Eagles defender and returned 41 yards for a touchdown with 8:50 left in the first quarter.
Then, on the Eagles’ first drive, they scored on a 24-yard quarterback keeper that followed a fake handoff so well executed that it fooled most Pointer defenders and a cluster of sideline news media photographers.
A pass interception by the Eagles on the next Pointer possession set them up at the hosts’ 44-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, Olympian struck for their final score on a nicely executed 40-yard pass play.
The result: 21 points scored by the Eagles, 14 off turnovers, in a span of 3:19.
The Pointers answered late in the second period when a poor Eagle punt gave them a short field. The Dogs covered the 41-yard distance, with senior Niko Vega scoring the first of his two short-run touchdowns just 1:49 before intermission.
Early in the third quarter, the Pointers pulled off their longest play of the day, with senior Jaylen Griffin taking a handoff and sweeping to the right side before handing off to junior Tshombré Carter on a reverse that took the Eagle defense by surprise, with Carter racing 41 yards to the visitors’ ten-yard line.
Vega’s second touchdown, with 8:07 left in the third frame, brought the Pointers within seven with nearly 20 minutes of playing time left to knot the score.
But excellent play by both teams’ defenses dominated play the rest of the game.
The Pointer offense had four possessions during that span, resulting in two fourth-down stops and a punt plus a blocked short field goal attempt.
And after the third Eagle touchdown, the Pointer defense forced six punts and recovered a fumble, yielding only two first downs in the process.
That hole was just too deep. Pointers 62, Serra 7
With the Pointers traveling to Serra for the first time in several years, the overmatched Conquistadors provided little opposition as the Pointers scored almost at will.
On the hosts’ first play from scrimmage, the snap to the quarterback sailed over his head for a 16-yard loss, setting the tone for the game.
The lone bright spot for Serra was a two-play sequence in which a fake punt play gained over 30 yards on the surprised Pointers. They followed that with a 40-yard touchdown pass, only their second score after five games.
Also known as the Qs, the once-proud program is 0-5 this season and has been outscored 212-13. Extra points:
• This is the Pointers’ annual bye week before the highly anticipated “Friday Night Lights” homecoming game takes place on Oct. 9 against Hoover. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.
• Prior to the Olympian game, Pointer players saluted their teachers by escorting them onto the field as they were introduced as part of the Staff Appreciation game. Teachers wore jerseys matching their players’ number.
• Griffin, the Pointers’ top running back, returned to action against Olympian after sitting out two games following a leg injury, but he was injured again attempting to catch a long pass.
• The Pointer JV team improved to 4-1 with a 28-21 win over the Eagles, while the freshman squad stands at 2-3 with a 14-6 loss.