Another touchdown, another completed pass and another great run. The Giants received a blowout loss to the Terra Linda Trojans at 48-14 on Sept. 16th. They then faced a rigid Oakland team, which once had the current running back for the Oakland Raiders, Marshawn Lynch.
The Giants looked to attain a victory in a tough matchup against the Oakland Tech Bulldogs, after a disappointing loss to Terra Linda in the previous week.
Despite their hard fought effort, the Giants lost 26-14. The Giants held up a great defensive effort until the fourth quarter, but were unable to stick with the Bulldogs to finish out the game.
Junior Alex Aguero had an outstanding offensive game with 19 carries for 121 yards, three passes for 33 yards and two touchdowns, according to the Marin IJ .
According to the prior game footage, the Giants knew that the Bulldogs were going to be an intense challenge. Senior lineman Sam Mauro stated that they knew they were going to be facing a solid team.
“We knew they were going to be hard hitters, we knew they were going to be fast and that they would talk a lot. Number 75 was 6’4” or 5” and 370 [pounds]; also they had a few backers like number 1 who was very difficult,” Mauro said.
In the first quarter, the Bulldogs scored on their starting drive of the game. Within seven minutes the Bulldogs scored the first touchdown. The Giants offense attempted a response drive but were unable to convert and turned the ball over. After the quick score by their opponents and swift turnover, the Giants defense toughened up. They held the Bulldogs to one touchdown going into halftime .
Senior cornerback and safety Drew Kellerman cited the defense in keeping their chances of winning alive for the majority of the game. He stated that he saw great defensive stops and tackles by seniors Mason Cohen and Wiley Geiger. There were also great coverages on receivers and reads by linebackers and lineman across the board, according to Kellerman.
Unfortunately, the offense was unable to finish through on some key drives that would deter any scoring for the half. Multiple penalties ended up setting the Giants offense back from heading downfield.
Upon entering the second half the Giants remained down seven to the Bulldogs. The entire third quarter was a back and forth between the two teams. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Bulldogs scored another touchdown but failed to convert the extra point, making the game 13-0.
The Giants soon answered back in the fourth quarter with great runs by Aguero down the field on a 79-yard drive. Aguero slipped through the Bulldog’s defense for the Giants’ first touchdown. On the PAT (point after touchdown), the score was 13-7.
On the kickoff there was a great recovery on an onside kick by Mason Cohen to give the Giants back the ball with an advantageous field position. Senior Matthew Mulcahy, who plays tight end, made a key catch for 12 yards for the conversion at the four-yard-line. Aguero powered through on the next play to score. The PAT attempt was good, giving the Giants the lead at 14-13.
However, it seemed that the Giants’ defense lost energy in comparison to the Bulldog’s offense due to their hard fought defensive stops earlier. The Bulldogs were successfully able to run the ball and break decisive tackles, scoring a touchdown in response to the Giants. With the PAT, the game became 19-14 with only four minutes to go.
The Giants weren’t able to finish on the response drive, which ended up quickly turning over the ball back to the Bulldogs, who scored another touchdown and PAT. The game was 26-14 with the Giants trailing with three minutes left to go. Multiple sacks left the Giants unable to move down field, which lead to the Bulldogs kneeing the ball to run the clock out.
Junior lineman Will Arensmeyer states that there are some things to work on as the team moves forward, such as finishing plays.
“As a team, we need to finish. We just need to be able to finish, we had good drives but we were inconsistent. If we keep working as a team, as brothers, then we’ll be able to win games like these down the road,” Arensmeyer said.
The Giants look to get a second victory against the San Marin Mustangs at home on Oct. 7th.
Photos by Maxim Kawashima
