REEDLEY—Reedley College quarterback Josh Allen gave the Gavilan defense some problems Saturday night.
The Rams got into fumble trouble late, giving Allen and the Tigers the opportunities they needed to stage a comeback. Allen was a part of three of the Tigers’ last four scores which helped them erase a 13-point deficit to win 44-33 over the Rams.
Gavilan led Reedley 33-20 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Tigers went on a five-play, 30-yard march down field that ended with Allen running the ball in from the 1 to cut the Rams’ lead to six.
Gavilan’s next possession was short lived as quarterback Drew Fryhoff fumbled on the team’s first play from scrimmage and it was recovered by Reedley at the Rams’ 25-yard-line. Less than a minute later the Tigers had the lead. Reedley needed just four plays to score, capping off the drive with a 5-yard TD run from Allen.
The Tigers QB broke free for a 38-yard run into the endzone just three minutes later. Gavilan’s Anthony Brooks fumbled and the home team recovered, but would settle for a 22-yard field goal from Chance Carter with 7:42 left on the clock.
Reedley was the first to draw blood when Rafael Araujo-Lopes caught a 2-yard pass from Sean Stell Jr. with 11 seconds left in the first quarter. The Tigers went for the 2-point conversion, but were intercepted by Devin Knudsen to lead 6-0.
The Rams defense got them on the board with a safety to start the second quarter, cutting the lead to 6-2. Fryhoff found Jesse Barker in the endzone eight minutes later for an 18-yard score and carried in the QB keeper for eight yards with just a minute left in the second to put Gavilan up 16-13 at the half.
Fryhoff had 18 completions on 33 attempts to amass 246 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The interception prematurely ended the Rams’ final possession with just over a minute left on the clock.
Jesse Baker was the leading receiver with five catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Gavilan jumped ahead by 10 when Fryhoff was on the receiving end of a 21-yard pass from Seth Holcomb with 12:20 left in the third quarter. Reedley answered with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Caleb Horton to cut Gavilan’s lead to 23-20.
Brooks punched the ball in from the 1-yard-line with 4:56 remaining in the third. Reedley’s Horton fumbled on the team’s first play from scrimmage and was recovered by Gavilan at the Tigers’ 47. The Rams were only able to get it to the 19-yard-line, however, and Pat McQueen sent the ball sailing between the goal posts just over three minutes later to give Gavilan its final lead at 33-20.
Rams coach Spencer Gilford said that turnovers would make the difference in this game and he was right. His defense forced and recovered two Tiger fumbles, but his offense fumbled three times—all of which were lost.
Gavilan was also plagued by penalties, drawing 15 for 221 yards to Reedley’s 16 for 176.
The Rams had 403 yards of total offense to Reedley’s 385. Gavilan put up 149 yards on the ground, led by Miguel Redmond who had 16 carries for 38 yards.
Gavilan (2-2 overall, 0-1 in Golden Coast League) will host West Hills College at 5 p.m. Oct. 4. West Hills was 3-0 heading into its contest with Monterey tonight. The results from this game were not yet available.
