GILROY – In a display of pure dominance, the Anchorpoint
Christian Warriors football team manufactured seven touchdowns on
15 offensive plays in the first half Friday afternoon.
GILROY – Seven touchdowns on 15 offensive plays – and it was supposed to be the Warriors’ toughest test of the season.
Apparently, the line of communication from Northern California to Sountern California is a bit staticy when it comes to 8-man football.. The Anchorpoint Christian football team can be classified as dominant and it proved it once again Friday afternoon.
Volunteer Christian Academy, a first-year program out of Bakersfield, traveled to Gilroy for a non-league showdown with the Warriors.
Rumors circulated all week among players and in the Anchorpoint fanbase that VCA would give the Warriors, who have routed opponets with ease for the past two seasons, a competitive contest.
“It was actually a really tough week because I didn’t get perfection. I was the one who was nervous,” Warriors head coach KC Adams said. “I like that they had energy to go. I like the fact that some of them were scared all week.”
The competition may not have been up to snuff, but the Warriors sure didn’t fizzle.
Prepared for an opponent they thought would be their toughest task of the season, the Warriors scored on every first-half possession, staking claim to a 54-0 lead at the intermission.
The 54-0 halftime advantage was all the visitors wanted to contend with and the game was called before the third quarter got underway.
Running back Kareem Lucas carried the ball twice and produced a pair of scores. The junior took a straight hand off and breezed 24 yards for the first touchdown and on the Warriors’ ensuing possession – and Lucas’ next touch – he scooted in from 20 yards out.
A successful 2-point conversion after each left the Warriors up 16-0 five minutes into the first quarter.
“We expected something a little different,” Lucas said. “We put in a lot of effort for this game.”
Quarterback Samuel Apolinar hit a wide open Matt Garay for a 74-yard scoring bomb on the Warriors’ next offensive play, and the rout was in full bloom.
Jordan Suniga zigged and zagged for two rushing touchdowns while Zach Clinger and Austin Keathley etched their names into the stat book with one rushing touchdown each.
VCA is headed by Keith Powell, who seven years ago had a roundabout hand in helping Anchorpoint’s now vaunted program get on its feet.
Adams told a story following the game about how Powell handed down a number of suggestions and tips when Adams was pondering the idea of starting an 8-man team.
VCA had been undefeated but beat teams with far less power and talent than the Warriors.
“He has won state championships,” Adams said. “He was like, ‘you guys are good, I didn’t think it was like this.'”
With Friday’s game not panning out as the Warriors had envisioned, it’s back to the drawing board in search of an opponent that will exchange shot for shot with the powerhouse.
“I want a team that will make us work,” Suniga said.
One option is for the Warriors to schedule a game with a team in the Southern Conference of the California Interscholastic Federation. If those teams aren’t seeking the Warriors, it might be time for the Warriors to hunt for them.
“I could go down there,” Adams said. “If we can wrangle up some money, we might. Right now, I have to take a chance.”
A possible matchup with the Southern Section’s top squad, Warner, is an outside possibility, Adams said, variables being if bye weeks line up and of course, transportation.
“You’d have to stay the night,” Adams said. “You can’t just drive down for the game. It’s hard to plan it.”
