It wouldn’t be surprising if many Ramona football players are having nightmares that involve a Point Loma player wearing the No. 7 on his jersey.
That number is assigned to senior strong safety Tristan Shafer, a player who gave the Bulldogs fits during the early going of the Pointers’ 28-8 win on a sweltering night in the North County community two weeks ago.
On the hosts’ first play from scrimmage, Shafer intercepted a pass and ran it back 40 yards leading to the Pointers’ first touchdown, a six-yard run by Shafer.
After a Pointer punt from their own end zone, the Bulldogs fumbled again with linebacker 
Trevor O’Toole recovering. The Pointers moved down the field before quarterback Jason Peres lofted a pass on the right side into the hands of Shafer at the goal line for a 14-0 lead.
Shafer later had a third quarter fumble recovery that led to a two-yard scoring run by Cris Brown that provided the evening’s final points. Brown later broke a 30-yard run for a game-leading 70 yards on 10 carries.  
The other Pointer touchdown came at the end of a beautiful 92-yard drive with the team’s leading rusher Kaden Gill running in from six yards. Gill was credited with 48 yards on nine carries. 
Offensively, the Pointers only racked up 162 yards, but field position and the trio of Bulldog turnovers allowed them to score four times. A stingy Dog defense held Ramona to just 76 total yards. OTAY RANCH 37, POINTERS 26
Otay Ranch (South Bay) defeated the Pointers, scoring quickly on some big plays during a wild game last week on Bennie Edens Field.
The loss dropped the Dogs to 1-2 on the season with a quartet of league games beginning early next month against county powers who are members of the Western League.
First impressions looked like a Pointer romp as they took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards for a touchdown set up by a 42-yard run by Gill. Joaquin Quintanilla covered the final yards for a 7-0 Pointer lead just 2:10 into the game.
Gill’s three-yard run tied the game at 14 as the first quarter ended.
Shafer leaped high in the air in the end zone, just getting a finger tip on a Mustang pass before his teammates drove for their third score. A 20-yard pass, Peres to Cris Brown, preceded a five-yard pitch to Jaylon Brown for the score and the last Pointer lead of the game, 20-17 just 2:41 before halftime. 
The Mustangs scored again, leading 24-20 at the break. They scored twice in the second half sandwiched around the Pointers’ final score.
That Pointer score was set up late in the third quarter after Peres hit Gill for 27 yards.
Four Mustang scores came immediately after play stoppages including a fumble recovery, first play of a possession, after a player injury and after a pass interference penalty. Their first score came on an early punt return.
Gill led the Pointers with 117 yards on 18 carries. His team had 302 yards in offense including 223 rushing but lost two fumbles.
“We made some mistakes that really cost us,” head coach Mike Hastings said after the game. “We
gave them a lot of opportunities early in the game before we settled down. Some of our kids got a little worn down in the second half but the attitude is strong and we’re a team that is going to get better.”
The Pointers travel to Rancho Bernardo High on Sept. 13 before returning for a Homecoming match with a 6:30 p.m. start against Olympian High (South Bay) on Sept. 20. EXTRA POINTS: • Football Boosters are hosting a Homecoming Tailgate from 4-6 p.m. Sept. 20 at Pete Ross Stadium. Tickets are $40 and include game admission. Go to pointerfootballboosters.com for more information. • The Pointer freshman team is 2-0-1 after wins over Ramona and Otay Ranch. The JV team is  2-1, losing to Ramona before defeating Otay Ranch.