In need of a win to get back on track, California Pintos football took a trip to Versailles to take on the winless Tigers.
The game was a high-energy game with California in control most of the way. Despite a late fourth comeback attempt from the Tigers, the Pintos defense held its ground and California ended their four-game losing streak with a 28-18 win against Versailles.
"We did make some mistakes early on and had to clean those up throughout the game, but overall, our kids played outstanding and put forth great effort. That's really all we could ask for," Pintos coach Seth Womack said. "I'm very happy for them to get the win this week. They worked very hard for it and to get one is big for them. Anytime you get a win is great."
The Tigers won the opening toss and chose to defer to the second half, meaning the Pintos would start the game on offense. Versailles' defense forced the Pintos into a turnover on downs on the opening drive, but California's defense had an answer and forced the Tigers into a three-and-out after the Tigers had two penalties.
Versailles got the ball back after a fumble from California, but the disappointment was quickly replaced with joy after Pintos cornerback Ayden Bryant intercepted Versailles quarterback Tyrus Ollison at the Tigers' 29-yard line. The interception led to the game's first score on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 when running back Tyler Oden ran into the end zone for his third touchdown of the year. The extra point split the uprights and California led 7-0 after the first quarter.
After forcing the Tigers into another punt midway though the second quarter, quarterback Martin Kilmer connected with wide receiver Walker Friedmeyer for a 61-yard catch and run to the Versailles 13-yard line. Five plays later, Oden found the end zone again on a 3-yard run to make it 14-0.
Versailles got the ball back with just under three minutes left in the first half, looking for a chance to get their first score before the break. The Tigers showed their resilience by completing a long third down and a long fourth down to make it to the Pintos 7-yard line with 1:30 remaining in the half. Then, Versailles got their first touchdown, as Ollison found wide receiver Reese Murdock for a touchdown. California blocked the extra point and California took a 14-6 lead into halftime.
Versailles got the ball to start the second half and looked to carry their late first-half momentum into the final two quarters. But California stopped Versailles and forced them to punt again on a three-and-out possession. California took over and used two more Tiger penalties to make their way into the red zone. Running back Brooks Volkart capped the drive, diving into the corner of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown to extend California's lead to 21-6.
The Tigers picked up steamed on the ensuing drive and made their way again into California territory before the Pintos made back-to-back big plays. First, a sack from senior Cody Williams and then an interception from sophomore Hayden Kilmer that he returned to the Versailles 29. Oden then capped the ensuing drive with a 2-yard touchdown run -- his third score of the game -- to make it 28-6.
"We are in a very great position where we've got two terrific running backs that can run the ball. Tyler is a strong, tough, gritty kid. We're just as capable of pushing the ball down the field with him as anybody else," Womack said. "To have a guy like him on our team is great and it's better for us that he's only a sophomore. He's a weapon for us and he's only going to get better."
Just before the third quarter gave way to the fourth, the Tigers took a kickoff 92 yards for what appeared to be a touchdown, but a penalty was called for a block in the back at the California 30-yard line against Versailles. The touchdown was negated and the Pintos defense forced a turnover on downs. With just under seven minutes to play in the game, California maintained a three-possession lead, but the Tigers were not ready for the game to end.
Versailles made a comeback attempt in the final minutes. Ollison made a deep throw towards the end zone, looking for wide receiver Tristan Albrecht. Albrecht had a California defender in front of him, but avoided the tackle and found his way into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown with 5:07 left. The Pintos defense made another big play by stopping the 2-point conversion. With the score now 28-12, Versailles went for an onside kick and recovered the loose ball for a first down and a new possession.
Four plays and 76 seconds later, Ollison found Albrect again for a 21-yard touchdown. A 2-point conversion would make it a one possession game, however, California made another key stop and the try was no good to make the score 28-18.
The Pintos went three-and-out and had to punt again and the Tigers took the ball at their own 36-yard line. The Tigers made another effort to find the end zone and put another touchdown on the board with no timeouts left. After a holding and an intentional grounding penalty were called against the Tigers, Versailles needed to convert a fourth-and-23 to keep the game going. Ollison's fourth down pass was intercepted by Hayden Kilmer to give California the 10-point win.
"Sometimes you look at the scoreboard after a game and you lose by one point. Those kind of games happen. We took away five points from PAT's and we won by ten. Those points can sometimes be the most important points of a game. If you take away those five points and they recover an onside kick, it's a one score and they win game," Womack said. "We made those plays when we needed to and I'm just happy that the kids got the win tonight. I was very happy for them."
Womack and his staff had been working hard to prepare the Pintos for the game in all areas, but the most important aspect they worked on was defense against the run. The hard work last week translated into a win for California and the fewest amount of rushing yards given up this season.
"It's always got to be your focus to stop the run and we've done that well for the past four or five weeks of the season, but over the last two weeks, it's really been our focus in practice. We've telling ourselves that if teams want to beat us, they're going to have to do it throwing the ball. We're going to stop the run and we've gotten much better at it over the last two weeks," Womack said. "Our hats go off to Versailles tonight. They tried tonight. They tried late in the first half and got a score on us. We made an adjustment at halftime to try and take that away and I think we slowed them down with that. They threw up some monster prayers late, they converted some big downs, and got two touchdowns on us late in the fourth. That's how it always is with them. No matter what their record is, they're going to bring their best against us. So you need to give them credit where credit is due."
The win comes at a critical time of the season for California, with their last two games of the regular season at home against the Eldon and Hallsville. This Friday, the Pintos face an Mustangs team currently on a four-game losing streak. Womack said that the game against Eldon will be one of the most critical games for the Pintos yet and his team has to bring forth their best effort, just like they did against Versailles.
"They're a big and physical team. What they do on both sides of the ball can give us some fits. What has given us some fits this year is when our opponents run the ball. Eldon is no different. They like to run the heck out of the ball," Womack said. "We're going to have to be on our best game for that. We'll take the win tonight. We're going to go back home, lick our wounds, heal our injured players, and get ready for next week."
The Pintos and Mustangs kick off at 7 p.m. at California High School.
Sophomore defensive back Hayden Kilmer (right) seals the win for California with his second interception of the game with 1:16 left in fourth quarter. (Democrat Photo/Evan Holmes)
The California Pintos charge on the field. Ready to do battle with the Versailles Tigers. (Democrat Photo/Evan Holmes)
The Pintos captains meet the Tigers captain at center field for the opening coin toss. (Democrat Photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior quarterback Martin Kilmer threw 15/21 for 165 yards on Friday night. (Democrat Photo/Evan Holmes)
The Pintos defense stop Versailles running back Cage Pritchett for a loss. California allowed a season-low 123 rushing yards to the Tigers on Friday night. (Democrat Photo/Evan Holmes)
California High School's football cheerleaders perform a new cheer for the Pintos against the Versailles Tigers. (Democrat Photo/Evan Holmes)