Patterson High Flag Football Take on Mariposa County Grizzlies

On Tuesday night, the Patterson Tigers Flag Football team hosted the Mariposa County Grizzlies. The junior varsity teams kicked things off for the night. The first quarter was a defensive showcase, as neither offense could get things going. The deadlock was broken in the second quarter when Mariposa was faced with a fourth down, they ran the ball and found the end zone before converting the extra point, making it 7-0 in favor of the visitors. That wouldn’t last long though, as quarterback Sophia Rentaria’s pass to Layan Abukwaik found the end zone. Patterson then went for a successful two-point conversion, giving them the lead, 8-7. Mariposa punted on the following drive, giving Patterson the ball back. They’d take advantage when Rentaria found Miranda Pena open in the end zone, making it 14-7 after an unsuccessful extra point attempt. Patterson carried that lead into halftime. Their defense stepped up in the second half, with a pair of interceptions by Jocelyn Lomeli and Zoe Hernandez. The offense took full advantage of Hernandez’s interception, as a lateral to Brielle Green allowed her to run in for the touchdown, extending Patterson’s lead even further. Green added another rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, making it 28-7 for the Tigers and securing their victory. Following a strong performance by the Junior Varsity Tigers, it was Varsity’s turn. Mariposa got out to a quick lead, with back-to-back touchdowns in the first quarter making it 13-0 by the end of the frame. It would take until the third quarter for either team to find the end zone again, when Patterson’s attempt at a trick play resulted in an interception and touchdown for Mariposa’s defense. At this point, the offense stepped up for the Tigers. They got their first touchdown of the night on the following drive and the defense did their part forcing the Grizzlies to punt. The Tigers would then turn the ball over on downs, but junior Brooklyn Valentine would quickly get an interception and ran it back for the touchdown, making it a one possession game. Unfortunately for Patterson, there was less than a minute remaining at this stage and Mariposa was able to run down the clock. Had there been just a couple of more minutes, they may have been able to pull off the comeback with momentum on their side but that wasn’t the case. Both the Varsity and Junior Varsity Tigers will have to regroup quickly, as they’ll travel to Tracy on Thursday night to face off against the Kimball Jaguars. The Jaguars will certainly be a tough test for the Tigers, especially their Varsity team who will enter the contest with a 7-1 record.