Napa at Del Campo

According the win-loss column, Saturday was a great day for the Indians, since they beat Del Campo 30-29. But if you were one of the people sitting in that Sacramento heat on Saturday, you know that there is more to the story.

Obviously, Napa put 30 points on the board, so that is definitely a positive. Here's how the Indians came about posting those 30 points:

Linden Fowler got the Indians on the board first with a rushing TD and the two point conversion gave Napa the 8-0 lead in the first quarter. While on defense, John Boyett knocked the ball loose and Jeremiah Luke recovered the fumble for the second Napa score. A PAT kick from Steven Oja put Napa ahead 15-0. At the start of the third quarter, Napa drove the field and Boyett took the ball in the end zone for the third Napa TD. He finished the series by carrying the ball in for the 2 point conversion. Almost seconds later, Napa's Stuart Chester recovered a fumble on the kickoff and got Napa the ball again. Ted LeMasters found Boyett for a long touchdown pass. Oja's kick was good and Napa led 30-0.

So, 30-0 and we're all feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, so was Del Campo, who did their damage to the scoreboard in the second half. 29 unanswered points later, the Indians hung on to win.

Since it was the first game of the season, there were some good things and some things that could use a little work. But that's what film and another week of practice is for. Here are some of the positives and negatives, according to Coach Mott:

Positives:

-The offensive line played well and dominated up front and allowed us to take big chunks in the running game

-Scott Johnson, David Smith, Robert Butler, Carlton Garza, Miguel Figueroa and Jason Westerberg allowed us to control the clock and helped us pick up big first downs in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

-Our defense had a big goal line stand capped by a big play on fourth down by John Boyett.

-Our special teams had several big plays on the day including a fumble recovery on the kick off team, a blocked PAT by Ryan Kostecka, and we were 100% successful in PAT attempts (2-2 kicking, 2-2 on the waterpick).

-Offensively, Jake Croxdale ran the ball well and Boyett made several big plays including a TD receiving and a TD running.

So let's review: 1st half? Good. 2nd half? Could use a little work. Here are some more thoughts from Coach Mott:

-The Indians need to get in shape and condition so that when they physically get tired, they don't break down mentally. Tackling will improve when we get in shape and can play four quarters of black shirt football.

Obviously there are things to work on, but it is only Week 1. It would be a safe bet to say they will be having extra hard workouts this week before taking on Granite Bay at home on Friday. Granite Bay beat Pitman (Turlock, CA) 17-8 on Thursday and Napa will have to play four solid quaters of football in order to seal a victory over the Grizzlies.

Side note- stats will be posted shortly, as soon as I get the info from the team statistician and I will throw a few photos online as well. MaxPreps.com was at the Del Campo game and has a photo gallery up, and the Napa Register was also there (I know, I was impressed too. Not only an away game, but a Saturday away game!) so they probably have a few online to browse through.