Hilmar misses on opportunities, falls to Bradshaw Christian in football section title game

There was no shortage of signs Saturday evening.

Right from the opening possession, there were indications it wouldn’t be Hilmar High School’s night.

Bradshaw Christian fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, gifting the Yellowjackets the ball at the Pride 12-yard line. Hilmar came away with no points, however, missing a 24-yard field-goal attempt.

It set the tone for an evening of missed opportunities by Hilmar. Second-seeded Bradshaw Christian was much more opportunistic and knocked off the top-seeded Yellowjackets 28-18 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI title game at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

“When we look back on this game, there’s going to be no shortage of what-ifs,” Yellowjackets coach Frank Marques said. “We had every opportunity in the world to get control of that game and we just didn’t do it.

“Make no mistake, the better team won tonight. Bradshaw came in with a better plan and did a better job executing it.”

Five Bradshaw turnovers allowed Hilmar (9-4) to remain in the game until the last three minutes, but the Yellowjackets never got into a rhythm on either side of the ball.

Hilmar’s defense forced four fumbles and made an interception but could do little to slow the Pride’s offense. Bradshaw’s Cox Box attack gave Hilmar fits, racking up 320 rushing yards on 43 carries and passing for 75 yards.

Bradshaw (11-2) wasted little time grabbing the momentum after Hilmar’s missed field goal, as Jared Kanipe broke free for a 41-yard touchdown run four plays later for a 7-0 lead.

Yellowjackets quarterback Daniel Teixeira answered early in the second quarter, keeping on a read-option and sprinting in for a nine-yard score to trim the lead to 7-6.

The Pride needed just four plays to score again. Gerrett Robbins busted a 30-yard touchdown run to expand the lead to 14-6. Teixeira (16 of 30 for 168 yards) responded again, scoring on a five-yard run to make it 14-12 at halftime.

Despite a sloppy opening 24 minutes, Hilmar liked where it was at the break. The Yellowjackets took their only lead on the opening possession of the second half, slicing through the Pride defense for 65 yards in six plays. Joshua Lee Jennings (11 carries, team-high 73 yards) capped the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run to give Hilmar an 18-14 lead.

The Yellowjackets’ offense couldn’t execute with the same precision the rest of the way, however. Eleven penalties for 90 yards, missed blocking assignments and an inconsistent passing game seemed to kill drives before they got started.

“We took some bad penalties, had running plays for negative yards and, us receivers, struggled to get open for our quarterback,” said wide receiver Alex Chavez, who finished his career with seven catches for 82 yards. “You can’t make those kinds of mistakes and hope to win a section title game.

“All the credit goes to them. They got us in some bad spots where we had to make plays and didn’t, and we couldn’t get them off of the field.”

Bradshaw provided an immediate answer to Hilmar taking the lead, grinding out a 12-play scoring drive.

Kyle Wilburn hit Phillip White Jr. with a five-yard touchdown pass to put the Pride ahead for good. The Bradshaw defense intercepted Teixeira twice in the fourth quarter, and Mateo Bromstead (13 carries, 98 yards) scored on a one-yard run with 2:53 to play.

“They didn’t do anything we didn’t expect or know was coming, but they just did it really well,” Marques said. “We looked good at times but weren’t ever consistent enough on either side of the ball.”

This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 7:06 AM with the headline "Hilmar misses on opportunities, falls to Bradshaw Christian in football section title game."