Del Oro runs out of time in loss

High school football, By Andrew DiLuccia, Journal assistant sports editor, (andrewd@goldcountrymedia.com)EL DORADO HILLS ? If there?s one thing fans of Del Oro football can take away from Friday night?s 42-35 loss to Oak Ridge High, is that the Golden Eagles will never give up in a football game. In front of roughly 5,000 fans at Oak Ridge, the Eagles showed that no matter the circumstance, they will continue to put points up on the board and take any team to task. ?They?ve (Del Oro players) just got great heart and work ethic. I could tell from day one that these guys had a lot of heart,? Del Oro coach Casey Taylor said. ?That?s Del Oro pride right there. But you?ve got to give Oak Ridge credit. They?ve got a lot of great athletes.?The Eagles deferred the opening kickoff and the Trojans received. On Oak Ridge?s first possession the team went three-and-out after attempting a deep pass play on first down. ?We wanted to throw the ball deep on the first play,? Trojans? head coach Chris Jones said. ?But we ended up at second and long.?After receiving the ball, Del Oro then used up all but 50 seconds of time in the first quarter and went 73-yards for score that was capped with a Mike Gildone?s four-yard touchdown run. But in the second quarter, the vaunted Oak Ridge offense awoke, and quarterback Shane Steichen got things going. He led the Trojans to three touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second quarter to go up 21-7. One of Steichen?s favorite targets on the night was wide receiver Marcus Spain, who caught four passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Also tearing up the field for the Trojans, was running back James Keeler, who rushed for three touchdowns. One being a 54-yard run with 2:49 to go in the fourth after Del Oro had scored to cut it to a seven-point lead. Keeler rushed 15 times for a 134 yards, and Steichen was 6-of-14 for 205 yards on the night. ?After that first stop we got things together. It was just first game jitters,? Steichen said. ?Once we get it going we just keep rolling along.?After going down 21-7, the Eagles, with roughly 10 seconds left in the first half, watched first-year varsity quarterback Aaron Quinn take a QB draw 79 yards for a score with no time left on the clock. Chris Thrall then completed the extra point to make the score 21-14 at halftime. ?Aaron Quinn was just amazing,? Taylor said. ?What poise for starting your first game at quarterback.?Quinn did look impressive on the night, going 10-for-16 with 135 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also started to throw the ball a little bit more in the second half, and was able to put the Trojans? defense on their heels. ?I felt more comfortable as the game went on, and I got in a rhythm,? Quinn said. ?Once you?re out there for a while you start to get in a rhythm and things start going.?The Eagles opened the second half with the ball and were driving into Oak Ridge territory when a fumble recovered by the Trojans stopped a promising drive. Steichen then hit Spain for a 62-yard TD reception to go up 28-14. In the fourth, the Trojans scored again on a Steichen-Spain touchdown to stretch it to 35-14. Del Oro then turned things around. A fumble by Steichen on the Eagles? 17 and was recovered by Gildone. Del Oro then capped the turnover with a Gildone one-yard TD dash. Gildone led the three-headed rushing monster that included Ryno Gonzalez and Jared Perez as he rushed for 47 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. The Eagles, now down 35-21, kicked and on-sides kick with Drew Yocum recovering the kick to give Del Oro the ball and the momentum. Quinn then hit Bryan Ryerson-Bisig for a 35-yard scored to cut the lead to 35-28. But as the momentum seemed to shift, Keeler ripped that 54-yard touchdown run to spread the margin once again. Quinn led the Eagles back down the field again and scored, and Del Oro attempted another on-sides kick, but didn?t recover. The team then forced Oak Ridge to a three-and-out situation and had the ball with a chance to tie with 50 second left in the game. However, there just wasn?t enough time in the game to get down the field.?We got better today,? Taylor said. ?You schedule tough teams in the non-league to get better for league play. Our kids kept fighting and I felt we just ran out of time. If we had more time on the clock I think we could?ve scored.?Even though Taylor?s homecoming wasn?t victorious, it showed the people on the other side of the field what they already knew. That Taylor is a good coach, and that anytime Del Oro and Oak Ridge hook up, it?s going to be a battle. ?It doesn?t matter (about the records) in the years we?ve been good, or they?ve been good, when Del Oro and Oak Ridge play it?s going to be a great game. That?s a tribute to both programs,? Jones said. ?They (Del Oro) did a good job. The guys were well prepared and Casey (Taylor) is a great coach.? Oak Ridge (JV) 42, Del Oro 7