Amador Valley 31, Washington 15
The Star: Senior Carson Ewanich did it all for the Dons. Ewanich rushed for 33 yards on two carries, including a 31-yard touchdown run to in the third. He also caught three passes for 49 yards with a pair of 23 yard strikes. The senior even performed on special teams with a 66-yard kickoff return to start the fourth quarter.
The Turning Point: At halftime, it was still anyone's game. Just 15 seconds into the second half, however, it was clear which side had the momentum. Ewanich's 66 yard return gave the Dons the kick they needed to take over the game. Ewanich later scored on a 31-yard touchdown run.
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The Quote: "We've really improved over the past few weeks," Amador Valley coach Rick Sira said. "We've progressed on both sides of the ball each game."
What's Next? Amador has the week off before taking on Livermore in an East Bay Athletic League game on Oct 1. Washington continues its trek against top EBAL teams as it travels to take on San Ramon Valley on Sep. 24.
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Bottom Line: Amador Valley needed momentum before it began the long road known as EBAL league play — and it got that momentum. The Dons spread the ball around and were consistent on both sides of the ball.
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It's no secret the East Bay Athletic League is one of the most competitive football leagues in Northern California.
With the likes of De La Salle, Monte Vista, Foothill, San Ramon Valley and California, each team needs all the momentum they can get before challenging said teams for a league title.
Friday night at Tak Fudenna Stadium in Fremont, the Amador Valley Dons got that momentum.
"This is a big win if we wanted to compete in this league," Amador coach Rick Sira said. "We have to continue getting better and better every week."
The Dons took advantage of a short field in the first quarter and scored the first touchdown of the game on an A.J. Tyson three-yard run. Tyson contributed 21 of the 35 yards Amador Valley needed to score.
After a mishandled kick off after the Tyson touchdown, Washington, led by quarterback Anmol Singh, drove 60 yards in just two and a half minutes to even up the score at 7-7.
The two squads traded punts until Don quarterback Kyle Moreno hit Jake Isabel to give Amador Valley a 14-7 lead. The score remained 14-7 until halftime.
From the opening kick of the second half, all the momentum was on the Dons' side. Wide receiver Carson Ewanich dominated the opening drive of the third quarter. Ewanich ran back the opening kick 66 yards and scored on a 31-yard touchdown run to give Amador Valley a 21-7 lead. Kicker Alex Osterholt nailed a 27-yard field goal early in the fourth to extend the Amador Valley lead to 17.
A Washington touchdown and two point-conversion with eight minutes left in the game cut the Amador Valley lead to nine, but the Dons took over from there. A six-minute drive quieted any Washington thoughts of a comeback. Amador Valley put the final nail in the coffin on an Osterholt 10-yard touchdown reception.
With the victory, the Dons (2-1) finished the non-league season with a winning record. In their first two games, the Dons struggled to find some consistency. Tonight, however, they might have found it.
"We were consistent on offense and defense," Sira said. "With the exception of all our penalties, we did better at eliminating our mistakes."
While eliminating its own errors is crucial to its league successes, Sira feels spreading the ball around on offense is just as important.
"Typically over the years, we try to get a lot of players the ball and tonight was no exception," Sira said of his offense in which nine different players had positive yardage. "Everyone works incredibly hard and it shows this team is really improving."
Amador Valley has the week off before kicking off its EBAL schedule at Livermore against the Cowboys on Oct. 2.
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Amador Valley 31, Washington 15
Amador 7 7 7 10 — 31
Washington 7 0 0 8 — 15
Scoring summary
6:57, 1st: AV — Tyson 3 yd run (Osterholt kick)
4:36, 1st: W — Carter 34 pass from Singh (Selles kick)
9:15, 2nd: AV — Isabel 11 pass from Moreno (Osterholt kick)
10:32, 3rd: AV — Ewanich 31 run (Osterholt kick)
9:03, 4th: AV — Osterholt 27 field goal
7:36, 4th: W — Csech 2 run (two-point conversion good)
1:45, 4th: AV — Osterholt 10 pass from Moreno (Flanzbaum kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing (car-yards): AV —Tyson 17-66, Ewanich 2-33, Osterholt 8-29, Moreno 6-23, Isabel 1-20, Ashtiani 3-16, Gibbons 3-4. W — Csech 8-20, Selles 1-7, Singh 11-3, Carter 4- (-3).
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): AV — Moreno 11-15-144-1. W — Singh 16-32-174-0.
Receiving (rec-yards): AV — Isabel 4-54, Windell 2-20, Osterholt 2-21, Ewanich 3-49. W — Long 1-9, Jennings 4-47, Carter 11-118
Team offense (rush-pass-total)
Amador Valley 191-144-335
Washington 28-174-202
Fumbles/lost: AV — 1/0; W — 1/0.
Records: Amador Valley 2-1; Washington 0-3.
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