Interceptions cost Thunder Mountain
Turnovers and penalties killed Thunder Mountain on Friday night against Hoopa Valley, and the Warriors scored 20 second-quarter points to pick up a 44-34 win over the Falcons at Thunder Mountain High School.
Falcons' quarterback Camden Thomas threw two red zone interceptions in the first half, one while on the Hoopa 20-yard line, the second from the Warrior 3. Thunder Mountain threw five interceptions as a team, and the two teams combined for 23 penalties in a flag-filled game that lasted just more than three hours.
"We shot ourselves in the foot," said a frustrated Bill Byouer, the TMHS coach. "We realized that we could play, and I think we played really well tonight aside from the mistakes. We executed in the passing game, and we executed the run, but there were five things we didn't do right, and that cost us touchdowns."
The Falcons' first drive went 12 plays all the way to the Hoopa 20-yard line before Thomas' offering was picked off by Warriors defensive back Angel Yanez and returned to the Hoopa 34.
After a Warriors punt, the Falcons went 61 yards in just five plays, with Cody Grussendorf making a nice grab of a low pass in the middle of the field before racing 50 yards to the end zone for a 6-0 Thunder Mountain lead after a failed two-point conversion.
But less than 20 second later, Hoopa quarterback Trevor Avery faked the handoff and sprinted 66 yards for a touchdown. Rodney McKinnon ran in for the two-point conversion, and Hoopa took an 8-6 lead with 2:36 to go in the first quarter.
Thunder Mountain drove right back down the field, all the way to the Hoopa 3-yard line. But on third-and-goal, Thomas' screen pass was tipped and caught by the Warriors' Shawn Nixon and returned about 95 yards for a pick 6, and a 14-6 Hoopa lead after a failed two-point conversion.
The Falcons had the ball at their own 35 on second-and-3 on their next drive, but a penalty made it second-and-18. On fourth-and-9, Thunder Mountain went for the fake punt, but Jordan Hakala wasn't able to pick up the first down, and Hoopa took over at the Thunder Mountain 30-yard line. Two plays and one penalty later, Avery connected with Clay Ramone from four yards out, and the Warriors led 22-6 after pair again connected for a two-point conversion.
Thunder Mountain answered on its ensuing drive, marching 63 yards in seven plays, including a 25-yard completion on a halfback pass from Stefan Jones to Grussendorf. Thomas connected with Brian Koenig over the middle from six yards out, cutting the deficit to 22-12 with 3:57 remaining in the first half.
After Thunder Mountain nearly recovered the ensuing kick off, the Warriors went 62 yards in just seven plays, with Avery plowing his way into the end zone from 11 yards out, giving the Warriors a 28-12 lead, which it carried into the break.
Brian Brassfield made a spectacular catch for 24 yards to get the Falcons moving on their second possession of the second half. Conrad capped a nine-play drive with a 12-yard touchdown run, and Cameron Fronimos ran it in for a two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 28-20 with 5:58 remaining in the third.
The key play of the game came on the Warriors' next drive. After two straight flags and three in four plays against Hoopa, it was third-and-36 from the Warrior 49. But Avery connected with Clay Ramone for a 39-yard gain down the left sideline.
"We broke down in coverage," Byouer explained. "We knew what was coming up and what they were going to call. We just could not stop it sometimes. Every time we'd start to get back in there, we'd shoot ourselves in the foot."
Four plays later, Yanez took a pitch on third-and-goal and ran it in from 5 yards out. All of a sudden, it was 36-20, Hoopa, after a Chance Carpenter two-point conversion.
The Falcons' next drive resulted in a punt, but Chas Riley laid a big hit on the Hoopa kick returner causing a fumble. Chance Gallates recovered it for TMHS at the Hoopa 46, but the Falcons weren't able to capitalize.
An interception by Tashone Rice set up an another Avery touchdown pass Ramone, effectively putting the game out of reach at 44-20 with 7:49 remaining.
The Falcons were able to tack on two more touchdowns, with Conrad running in from six yards out and Thomas connecting with Koenig on a 26-yard scoring strike with 38 seconds left to set the final score.
Avery had 158 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns runs, and two more through the air for the Warriors.
Hoopa coach Marty Wilkes was complimentary of the strides Thunder Mountain has made so quickly as a team.
"Coach Byouer, with a first-year program, I've got to take my hat off to these guys," he said. "They played a really good football game for such a young team. It was tough for us. Our kids made some adjustments, and we knew we were going to have some issues at corner, and it showed up a little bit.
"But we did make some adjustments and got some picks," he continued. "Our linebackers did their job. They have some young, talented players here at Thunder Mountain, and they've got a bright, bright future. I'm very impressed with what they've done in such a short period of time."
Conrad had 108 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, while Fronimos had 125 yards on 18 carries for the Falcons. Thomas finished 11-for-17 for 165 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Byouer said Hoopa was a tough team, but he thinks the Falcons played well aside from the interceptions.
"We weren't out-manned, and we played just as well as they did," he said. "But they didn't make any mistakes except one on the fumbled punt, and they were able to capitalize on ours (mistakes)."
How they scored
First Quarter
TMHS - Grussendorf 50 pass from Thomas (pass failed)
HVHS - Avery 66 run (McKinnon run)
Second Quarter
HVHS - Nixon 95 interception (pass failed)
HVHS - Ramone 4 pass from Avery (Ramone pass from Avery)
TMHS - Koenig 6 pass from Thomas (Fronimos run)
HVHS - Avery 11 run (run failed)
Third Quarter
TMHS - Conrad 12 run (Fronimos run)
HVHS - Yanez 5 run (Carpenter run)
Fourth Quarter
HVHS - Ramone 8 pass from Avery (Ramone pass from Avery)
TMHS - Conrad 6 run (Grussendorf pass from Fronimos)
TMHS - Koenig 26 pass from Thomas (run failed)