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Monterey Trail jumps out early, hangs on to beat Sheldon

By John Hull, Elk Grove Citizen, 09/29/15, 2:30AM PDT

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In a game that Sheldon High School football coach Herbie Berry desperately wanted to instill belief in his players that a 2-1 start wasn’t a fluke, instead the Huskies let go missed opportunities in a 35-14 loss to Monterey Trail in the Delta League opener.

 “There were tremendous opportunities tonight (last Friday),” Berry said. “The difference between us and them tonight was they executed and we didn’t.”

Sheldon had a reasonable chance to open its season with three wins in the first four games for the first time since 2009. That same year, Sheldon started 5-0 under former head coach Ed Lombardi. Now, the Huskies are .500 overall and facing the gauntlet of the mighty Delta League.

Next up, a likely miffed Franklin team, which lost to Grant 27-0 in the league opener, visits Sheldon on Friday.

“The thing we need to fix is being more consistent,” Berry observed. “We were missing blocks on the inside, people are going in the wrong direction. They are smarter than that. We practiced better than that. They just aren’t accustomed to winning yet and that is something we just have to build.”

On the opposite sidelines of the Sheldon-Pleasant Grove Community Stadium, Monterey Trail head coach T.J. Ewing was beaming with pride for the way his offense dominated the clock in the first half, jumped out to an early lead and held on the rest of the way.

“That was a big win because we had a lot of guys who were out,” Ewing said. “It was awesome because that was a total team win. I am just proud of all our players.”

Monterey Trail quarterback Robert Holt opened the scoring with a 77-yard run on the third play of the game. His pass to Neville Bood on the two-point conversion gave the Mustangs an early 8-0 lead.

The Mustangs scored again on their next possession with Aztlan Lopez running in from the 1-yard line.

Sheldon jumpstarted its offense when quarterback Chance LaChapelle connected with Norvell Meredith on a 30-yard completion deep into Mustang territory midway through the second quarter. Aaron Ortiz, though, missed a 37-yard field goal.

The Mustangs responded with Arnett Belton’s 55-yard touchdown run. With a two-point conversion, Monterey Trail built a 22-0 cushion with 5:13 left in the second quarter.

On the next possession, Sheldon gave up the ball on downs at the Monterey Trail 15. But the Huskies’ defense held the Mustangs, forcing a punt out of the end zone and took over at the Monterey Trail 31.

Sheldon running back Graylon Lindsey III scored on a four-yard run to get the Huskies on the board, 22-7, going into halftime.

Sheldon received solid field position at the beginning of the third quarter when Monterey Trail tried an onside kick, but the Huskies recovered. Eight plays later Sheldon was on the Mustangs’ 2 but fumbled the ball.

After forcing a punt, LaChapelle put together a pretty 47-yard drive that included a pair of passes to talented receiver Alex Cook. LaChapelle hit Mekhi Collins on a 17-yard slant route to pull Sheldon to within one possession at 22-14 with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter.

“When the line blocks and (LaChapelle) sees the field, he’s spectacular,” Berry said. “He’s going to be a great quarterback. And, he’s going to be a great quarterback this season. We just have to execute.”

Sheldon then had three opportunities in a row to tie the game.

Defensive lineman Ravontae Holt recovered a Monterey Trail fumble at the Mustangs’ 43, but Sheldon turned the ball over on downs. On a fourth-and-eight at the Monterey Trail 41, LaChapelle was hurried to throw the ball away by blitzing linebacker Tui Pulu.

Early in the fourth quarter, Sheldon started marching from its own 18. LaChapelle completed passes to Cook and Lindsey on consecutive plays but ended up throwing a pair of incomplete passes while under pressure. The Huskies again turned the ball over on downs, this time at their own 39 with 5:18 left in the game.

“I thought our guys really picked it up when there was adversity,” Ewing said. “Give Sheldon credit. When they really blocked their guys, they played really well.”

Holt found Bood on a 24-yard touchdown pass to increase Monterey Trail’s margin to 28-14 win 3:22 remaining.

Sheldon fumbled the ensuing kickoff at its own 38. Pulu finished off the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown run three plays later.

Monterey Trail moved to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Delta League, while Sheldon dropped to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in league.

Monterey Trail has won three straight since losing to Antelope in the season opener.