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Friday night's bruising battle between two teams that butted heads in the Sac-Joaquin Section championship game two years ago came down to a pair of fourth-down plays at Nevada Union's Hooper Stadium.
And the host Miners got the best of both, securing a come-from-behind 16-13 win over the Monterey Trail Mustangs to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2008.
Monterey Trail (0-2), the section's Division I runner-up the past two seasons, took a 13-9 lead when Sterling Powell took the second-half kickoff and returned it down the left sideline for a 92-yard touchdown.
Facing fourth-and-eight with 9:25 to go in the game and knowing the Mustangs were chewing up chunks of yardage — and time off the game clock — with each possession, NU coach Dave Humphers decided to roll the dice.
But turning to the duo that's proven to be the Miners' most consistent offensive connection in the early season, Humphers didn't consider the call much of a gamble at all.
Junior quarterback Kyle Cota rolled out to his right and hit Jake Hofheinz, who sped past two defenders for a 43-yard touchdown and the eventual final score on the board.
“We hadn't been blocking that well, but we were starting to get fired up out there,” said Hofheinz, who grabbed seven catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner. “That play has been working in practice and it's tough to cover, so I felt good about it when it was called.”
Through three games, Cota and Hofheinz have now hooked up on 21 passes for 391 yards and four touchdowns. Cota, who connected on 10-of-17 passes for 193 yards and two TDs Friday, now has completed 32-of-46 attempts for 538 yards and six scores against no interceptions.
“What a clutch play by Kyle and Jake,” Humphers said. “And we had great pass protection against a blitzing front. But, yes, Kyle to Jake has been big for us.”
NU's defense has also come up big through the first 144 minutes of the season, allowing just two touchdowns through 12 quarters of play. But the D's biggest play so far of the season came on another fourth-and-eight with just under four minutes remaining.
As the Mustangs pounded the ball up the gut, rather than test NU's speed from sideline to sideline, Monterey Trail made its way from its own 22-yard line to Miners' 34-yard line in 10 plays that clicked more than five minutes off the clock.
“Give me enough time, just give me enough time,” an antsy Cota said to himself on the sideline, hoping to get one last shot with the ball if NU couldn't corral the Mustangs.
But as Monterey Trail quarterback Lorenzo Hawkins dropped back to pass, NU's Patrick Chapple hit him on the release, causing the ball to sail high to the right side.
“I couldn't tell where it went,” Chapple said. “It felt like it was in the air forever, but then I heard the crowd.”
That roar from the Nevada Union stands came as junior defensive back Ian Davis leaped high in the air to snag the interception, before speeding down the left sideline to the Monterey 35-yard line to essentially seal the win with 3:12 remaining.
“I saw as it was coming through the air that it wasn't a very good pass,” Davis said. “It just didn't look right, but it came right to me.”
Davis saw substantial action on both sides of the ball Friday, sharing carries with five other Miners in the offensive backfield as NU looked to make up for the absence of leading rusher Gabe Humphers. Humphers, a senior who has produced 206 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, was sidelined Friday night after a pair of late personal fouls caused him to be ejected in last week's 47-0 win over Ponderosa.
NU's ground game sputtered throughout the night totaling a mere 50 yards. Senior Connor Keith, who left the game late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury, led NU with 29 rushing yards.
Defensively, the Miners were led by junior linebacker Tanner Vallejo, who totaled 19 tackles despite being nagged by a calf injury that had him walking back onto the turf with a limp at halftime. Vallejo has racked up 48 tackles, including 29 solo stops, in three games.
Junior linebackers Austin Marks and Hank Humphers also had big nights on the defensive side. Marks had 17 tackles, while Humphers added 14 more.
NU's defense is allowing an average of 4.6 points to opposing offenses through three weeks of the season, although the Mustangs did grind out 173 rushing yards against the Miners Friday night.
“You can see why they've been in the section championship game two years in a row,” Dave Humphers said. “They are so patient running that option and so explosive off the ball. And because of that, I'm really proud of our guys. Our guys fought and fought and as the game went on, we got better and better.”
NU hits the road next week, traveling to Chico for a Saturday matchup.
And the host Miners got the best of both, securing a come-from-behind 16-13 win over the Monterey Trail Mustangs to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2008.
Monterey Trail (0-2), the section's Division I runner-up the past two seasons, took a 13-9 lead when Sterling Powell took the second-half kickoff and returned it down the left sideline for a 92-yard touchdown.
Facing fourth-and-eight with 9:25 to go in the game and knowing the Mustangs were chewing up chunks of yardage — and time off the game clock — with each possession, NU coach Dave Humphers decided to roll the dice.
But turning to the duo that's proven to be the Miners' most consistent offensive connection in the early season, Humphers didn't consider the call much of a gamble at all.
Junior quarterback Kyle Cota rolled out to his right and hit Jake Hofheinz, who sped past two defenders for a 43-yard touchdown and the eventual final score on the board.
“We hadn't been blocking that well, but we were starting to get fired up out there,” said Hofheinz, who grabbed seven catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner. “That play has been working in practice and it's tough to cover, so I felt good about it when it was called.”
Through three games, Cota and Hofheinz have now hooked up on 21 passes for 391 yards and four touchdowns. Cota, who connected on 10-of-17 passes for 193 yards and two TDs Friday, now has completed 32-of-46 attempts for 538 yards and six scores against no interceptions.
“What a clutch play by Kyle and Jake,” Humphers said. “And we had great pass protection against a blitzing front. But, yes, Kyle to Jake has been big for us.”
NU's defense has also come up big through the first 144 minutes of the season, allowing just two touchdowns through 12 quarters of play. But the D's biggest play so far of the season came on another fourth-and-eight with just under four minutes remaining.
As the Mustangs pounded the ball up the gut, rather than test NU's speed from sideline to sideline, Monterey Trail made its way from its own 22-yard line to Miners' 34-yard line in 10 plays that clicked more than five minutes off the clock.
“Give me enough time, just give me enough time,” an antsy Cota said to himself on the sideline, hoping to get one last shot with the ball if NU couldn't corral the Mustangs.
But as Monterey Trail quarterback Lorenzo Hawkins dropped back to pass, NU's Patrick Chapple hit him on the release, causing the ball to sail high to the right side.
“I couldn't tell where it went,” Chapple said. “It felt like it was in the air forever, but then I heard the crowd.”
That roar from the Nevada Union stands came as junior defensive back Ian Davis leaped high in the air to snag the interception, before speeding down the left sideline to the Monterey 35-yard line to essentially seal the win with 3:12 remaining.
“I saw as it was coming through the air that it wasn't a very good pass,” Davis said. “It just didn't look right, but it came right to me.”
Davis saw substantial action on both sides of the ball Friday, sharing carries with five other Miners in the offensive backfield as NU looked to make up for the absence of leading rusher Gabe Humphers. Humphers, a senior who has produced 206 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, was sidelined Friday night after a pair of late personal fouls caused him to be ejected in last week's 47-0 win over Ponderosa.
NU's ground game sputtered throughout the night totaling a mere 50 yards. Senior Connor Keith, who left the game late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury, led NU with 29 rushing yards.
Defensively, the Miners were led by junior linebacker Tanner Vallejo, who totaled 19 tackles despite being nagged by a calf injury that had him walking back onto the turf with a limp at halftime. Vallejo has racked up 48 tackles, including 29 solo stops, in three games.
Junior linebackers Austin Marks and Hank Humphers also had big nights on the defensive side. Marks had 17 tackles, while Humphers added 14 more.
NU's defense is allowing an average of 4.6 points to opposing offenses through three weeks of the season, although the Mustangs did grind out 173 rushing yards against the Miners Friday night.
“You can see why they've been in the section championship game two years in a row,” Dave Humphers said. “They are so patient running that option and so explosive off the ball. And because of that, I'm really proud of our guys. Our guys fought and fought and as the game went on, we got better and better.”
NU hits the road next week, traveling to Chico for a Saturday matchup.
Junior Varsity: Nevada Union 46, Monterey Trail 0
Gareth Noxon rushed for a touchdown and returned a fumble for a “scoop-and-score” on defense, said NU junior varsity coach Dennis Houlihan, whose Miners moved to 2-1.NU rolled up 233 rushing yards, with Noxon leading the way with 68 yards. Jake Berger broke off 57 yards and a touchdown, while Joseph Voight had a 56-yard run.
Conner McGuire caught three passes for 43 yards and a score from Michael Tapia, who was 4-for-4 passing with two TDs.
Timmy Lopez was the top tackler with 11 stops, while Chase Federmeyer and Dalton Ruckman each had eight tackles and Sam Hayward added seven.
To contact City Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4249.
