Gregori overcomes slow start, picks up second win of the season on Atwater’s new blue turf
The Gregori High School football team has quickly become a fan of the new blue turf at Dave Honey Stadium.
Jaguars quarterback Conner Bailey threw four touchdowns to lead Gregori (2-1) to a 41-23 victory over Atwater on Friday night. It was the Jaguars second victory on Atwater High’s new turf this season.
“The kids said the turf feels good, they like the blue,” said Gregori head coach Lamar Wallace, whose team defeated Buhach Colony 40-9 to open the season on the blue turf.
“We’re just glad to finally get our first home game next week,” Wallace added. “We’ve been on the road for three weeks straight.”
Gregori traveled into Merced County for the third consecutive week after games against Buhach Colony and Merced High.
The Jaguars fell behind 10-0 early as Atwater marched 65 yards on 13 plays in the opening drive as sophomore AJ Banks scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to give the Falcons (2-1) a 7-0 lead. Grayson Soto tacked on a 30-yard field goal for Atwater late in the first quarter to extend the lead to 10-0.
The Gregori defense turned the tide in the second quarter, coming up with two turnovers to set up scores.
The Jaguars recovered a fumble by Banks at their own 48-yard line and Bailey drove the offense down the field and connected with Landon Gutierrez on a 1-yard touchdown catch to cut the lead to 10-7 with 8:19 left in the second quarter.
Jaxx Baroda gave Gregori its first lead at 13-10 when he returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown with 6:41 left.
A bad snap on a punt set up the Jaguars at the Falcons’ 23-yard line just moments later. Bailey connected with Gutierrez again, this time on a 7-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 19-10 with 3:07 left in the first half.
“Defense stepped up big tonight,” Wallace said. “We had some big plays in the backfield, they were able to get the big pick-six and that kind of got the momentum on our side. Then we went out on offense and punched it in and I think we were kind of rolling from there.”
The Falcons watched a 10-0 lead evaporate after Gregori outscored Atwater 19-0 in the second quarter.
“We showed our youth and made some mistakes tonight, but our kids fought hard and I’m excited about that,” said Atwater coach Seneca Ybarra, whose Falcons were trying to start the season out 3-0 for the first time since 2012.
Trailing 27-10 in the fourth quarter, Atwater rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to cut the lead to 27-23 with 8:35 remaining in the game.
Falcons quarterback James Bell hit running back Jesus Avila on a screen pass that went 74 yards for a touchdown. On Atwater’s next possession, Bell connected with Lorenzo Madrid for a 19-yard touchdown.
Madrid had a big night for Atwater with the touchdown catch and two interceptions on defense. Bell threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns.
However, the Jaguars were able to put the game away when Bailley connected with receiver Trey Webb on two touchdown passes of 47 and 31 yards to extend the Gregori lead to 41-23 with 4:57 left in the game.
“The theme this week was resilience,” Bailey said. “I told the guys we’re going to come out here to win. There’s no way we’re going to come out here and lose to these guys.”
Gregori senior Michael Marsden added 134 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 carries.
“Early on they were showing us some different looks up front and it took us a while to figure them out,” Wallace said. “Once we did and we were able to start moving the chains then that opened up everything else.”
Gregori hosts Livermore next week in its first home game of the season. The Falcons travel to Hilmar.
