A thrilling Friday night lights for the Gustine Reds as they took on the one in the Southern league Stone Ridge Christian Knights. With a win, the Knights would clinch the Southern League champions title but the Reds came into this game not going to give up without a fight.
In the end, the Reds won by a score of 31-23.
Going into the game Coach Collin Lane states "I really stepped back to evaluate the kids we had and I knew we had tough kids who had a really good relationship together so I changed the offense to be able to fit our kids better".
Starting the first quarter being 0-0, fans knew it was going to be a good game since the offense and defense of both teams were holding strong.
Until the start of the second quarter when quarterback Daniel Navarro pitched the ball to #3 Mike Saaranzin for a 5-yard touchdown putting the Reds up 6-0.
From there, the Reds were on a roll on both sides of the ball with #75 Reece Carlucci causing a fumble that would be recovered by #72 Edgar Garcia. #2 Daniel Navarro would get sacked on a fourth down, turning the ball back over to the Knights, where they would then score making the game a close 7-6.
Navarro stated, "We never gave up on each other, even though we had some mistakes we all fought through it.”
The Reds weren't done yet though. #7 Crue Correa had a game-changing interception which he ran in for a 57-yard touchdown, but he wasn't finished yet. Correa would go to sack the QB sending the Reds into the locker room leading 12-7.
Correa added, "I think I did pretty well, I scored twice but I still think there was stuff I could improve on and get better every day".
The Reds came out even stronger in the third quarter with their first play being a 15-yard toss to #3 Mike Saaranzin, then Navarro fired a 49-yard pass to Correa for another Reds touchdown making it 19-7. Then Correa would sack the QB causing a fumble which would then be recovered by #72 Edgar Garcia. The Reds would end the third quarter with another pass for 15 yards to Saaranzin putting them at their 5-yard line starting the fourth quarter.
Within seconds of the fourth quarter, #34 Alex Quezada had a 5-yard rushing touchdown putting the Reds up 25-7, and less than 12 minutes left for the Reds to earn a huge win. SRC was not giving up either, they came out and scored and added a 2-point conversion making the score 25-15 with only a few minutes left in the game. Navarro would throw an interception but Saaranzin would get the ball back for the Reds when he caught an interception and was able to gain a couple yards.
With only two minutes left on the clock the Reds would be set at their endzone hoping to score to seal the win and leave the knights with no time to catch up. They did just that when Navarro attempted a QB sneak and ran it in for a 3-yard touchdown. The Knights would have one more chance with the ball, where they would score and add another 2-point conversion but that wouldn't be enough to come back. The Reds would take a knee for the last 30 seconds until the clock ran out and the team was able to celebrate such a huge win.
Senior Austin Etheridge says "Our team was able to put the pieces to the puzzle and I feel like we are going to go really far for the rest of the season."
With this win, the Gustine Reds secured their spot in playoffs for the third year in a row.
"This game was do or die, the win puts us in the playoffs in the D7 bracket where we can compete with anyone we play,” Lane said.
Also knocking down the Knights from solo Southern League champs to now sharing the title with the Delhi Hawks which the Reds will be facing in their final home league game on Nov. 1. The game starts at 6 p.m.
