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Grant knocks off Antioch for second time this year
Updated: October 28, 2011 11:33PM
Visiting Grant scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and knocked off Antioch 19-7 on Friday in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
It was the second game between the teams in three weeks and almost mirrored Grant’s 22-14 comeback win earlier in the month.
Set up by a George Gonzalez interception, Antioch took a 7-0 lead on Danny Arden’s 4-yard touchdow run with 7:24 left in the second quarter.
Grant came right back and scored on quarterback Alejandro Villa’s 52-yard run. But Grant was penalized 15 yards for excessively celebrating the score, and Gonzalez’s 35-yard PAT kick was short.
The game turned Grant’s way in the third quarter when Antioch made a bad pitch and Grant defensive back Dillon Watters scooped up the ball, racing 28 yards to the house.
The Bulldogs then clinched the win when Villa scored from the one-yard line just two plays after Jonathan Wells raced 67 yards to the Antioch three.
Antioch finished 8-2, with both losses to Grant. The Bulldogs are 7-3.
For the game, Well rushed for 229 yards on 31 carries, with 190 yards coming after the break.
The sophomore replaced Grant’s 1,000-yard rusher Kyle Whitman, who suffered a season-ending injury during the week. Also out was Whitman’s backup, which is why veteran coach Kurt Rous turned to the 6-foot-1, 180-pound sophomore.
“He’s a beast,” said Rous. “With tonight, he’s over 1,000 yards rushing this season. He’s only a sophomore, but he runs like a man.”
The other reason for Grant’s win was its staunch defensive unit. They held Antioch running back Danny Arden to 67 yards 18 carries, with just seven coming in the second half. Meanwhile, Antioch quarterback Josh Anttila completed 1-of-9 passes in the game.
Rous praised the play of Watters, whose scoop and score in the third quarter turned a 7-6 deficit into a 12-7 Grant lead.
“We work on that all the time in practice,” Rous said. “Dillon did a great job of finishing.”
“Our coaches did a fantastic job of adjustments in the second half. Our philosophy is to run the ball, eat the clock and play great defense. And we did just that in the second half.”
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