Honkers trump Trojans for D-3 championship

Everything came together at just the right time for the Willows High football team this season and they joined the Honkers' volleyball team as Northern Section champions.

The Honkers went on the road Wednesday and put together a masterful defensive performance and made big plays on offense when it mattered most, beating Durham High 21-7 for the Northern Section Division III championship.

"I don't know what happened but they stepped up - all the kids," Willows coach Jim Ward said. "That was one of the best defensive efforts I've been associated with since I've been here, because that's a good offensive football team."

The Trojans (9-3) didn't find the end zone until 4:08 remained in the game when Toby Auer completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Luke Mullarkey.

Junior linebacker Eduardo Briones matched up with Durham's dynamic running back Chris Craven and held him to 115 yards on 23 carries. Briones made 10 solo tackles, was in on four others, sacked Auer twice and batted a down a pass attempt on a fourth down in the fourth quarter.

"We really stepped up on defense and we really covered what our responsibilities were. I saw that hole and I filled it and that's pretty much how it went," Briones said.

Juan Mendiola sacked Auer on fourth down on the Trojans' first drive of the game and the Honker defense forced a punt its next time out. Alex Alves laid a well-timed block to spring Ryan Welsh free for 24 yards on the return to the Trojan 17-yard line.

On the second play of the drive Justin Fortunato staked the Honkers to a 7-0 lead with a 15-yard fade to Alves with just over 3 minutes left in the first quarter.

"The first time we played them it was just a bad day for us, we had a week off and we weren't really focused a lot and we definitely came focused today," Fortunato said.

Durham punted on its next two drives and Fortunato timed a screen to Drake Matteson to perfection for a 47-yard gain on a third-and-six. Three plays later Fortunato once again lofted a jump ball to Alves in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 3:32 left in the half.

"I know (Alves) is one for going up and getting it so I trust him, I put all my trust in Alex all the time," Fortunato remarked.

The Trojans drove deep into Willows territory, setting up a first-and-goal at the 7-yard line but Pierce Baker sacked Auer and Matteson batted down two passes in the back of the end zone to send the game into halftime.

"Just like what we did against Pierce we just kept the ball on the inside because (Craven) is fast too, and just manned up on the receivers and kept them locked down," Matteson said.

Willows opened the second half with an energy-boosting drive. Welsh took a reverse for 14 yards on a third-and-nine and later in the drive on fourth-and-12, Matteson broke free for a 19-yard draw, similar to a play he broke for a 60-yard touchdown against Pierce in the semifinal game.

Two plays later Matteson pushed through a slight crack in the line for a 5-yard scoring run and Daniel Macias knocked through the point-after for a 21-0 lead.

Craven fumbled on the Durham 7-yard line but the Honkers wasted the advantage when Fortunato couldn't hang on to the snap on the next play.

Once again the Honker defense stepped up when Casey Taylor, who had just entered the game after Trevor Candelaria hobbled off the field, sacked Auer to set up a fourth-and-11. Alves intercepted Auer's desperation throw and returned it 21 yards to the Willows' 31-yard line.

After trading turnover-on-downs, Matteson fumbled the ball away and the Trojans drove to the Willows' 3-yard line, before Matteson  made up for the miscue with a pass deflection in the end zone on fourth down.

Durham tacked on its only score later in the quarter but managed just 78 yards on the ground and 171 through the air in the game.

"You've got to tip your cap to them, they've been hot the last three or four games," Durham coach Kevin York said. "They've been playing like they expected to play and like we expected them to play, they're a good football team. I'm proud of my guys for getting here and we played hard tonight like we have all year long and it was a good football game."

On Oct. 28 the Honkers were struggling, a loss to Pierce High eliminated them from the Sacramento Valley League title picture and they were 6-3 with ugly losses to Durham and Pierce.

Alves, a senior, said the team began to find its focus later in the season.

"It means everything. We had our trouble throughout the season getting it together and getting focused but it all came together in the end.”

Anchored by seniors at the skill positions and a youthful line, the Honkers began to turn the season around with a win against Live Oak in the final week of the season to enter the postseason on a positive note.

Junior lineman Trevor Candelaria said the team's expectations will be high next year after putting together the championship run.

"We just wanted to win really bad, we knew in our hearts if we kept pushing we could win this game. It just started with one guy, Eduardo Birones, he just started getting crazy out there and everyone else just followed his lead."

Willows sacked Auer seven times, led by Briones and Baker who had two apiece, and forced two turnovers, including a fumble recovery by Joe Perry.

Matteson ran for 88 yards and a touchdown and Kyle Wycoff rushed for 33 yards. Fortunato completed 4-of-9 for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Alves caught two passes, both for touchdowns.

The Honkers finished the season 10-3 and went 4-2 in league but avenged both league losses in the playoffs.

"It's huge, we didn't get league but we got section and we beat the two teams that beat us so it's all good," said Fortunato.

CONTACT Kirk Barron at 458-2121 or kbarron@tcnpress.com.