Fans filling the bleachers at Aragon’s varsity football season opener on Sept. 5 were not sure what to expect from the visiting Jefferson High School Indians, but one thing they could expect was plenty of running plays from the black and red. A 34-7 victory in Friday night’s home debut may not have had the same dominating effect as it did in last year’s 50-0 contest, but it certainly sent a message around the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) that the Dons already have their eyes set on a PAL tournament seed.
Although faced with multiple penalties and frequent turnovers at the start of the game, the Dons finally managed to settle down and execute on defense, forcing the Indians back nine yards into a fourth down. Then on offense, a series of passes thrown by senior quarterback Billy Mason to senior wide receivers Kono Filimoehala-Egan and Chad Franquez advanced the ball to the 22 yard line. Senior running back Curran Brandt finished off the drive with a short touchdown run, giving the Dons a 7-0 lead with 1:59 left in the opening quarter.
Later on defense, Jefferson took possession of the ball on a third down and eight yard before Filimoehala-Egan intercepted the pass and sprinted to the end zone with just 8.5 seconds left. At the end of the first, a fumble on the PAT snap kept the score 13-0 in favor of the Dons.
Then in the second quarter, after extending their lead to 20-0, Mason completed a pass to junior running back Devin Grant, who spun away from multiple tackle attempts and took the ball down to the 27 yard line. Later in the drive, senior wide receiver Tyee Stokman successively rushed to the end zone, giving the Dons a 27-0 lead at halftime.
As they had done in the first half, Aragon relied on their secondary to provide a defensive boost in the third quarter. Junior defensive lineman Nicolas Hom managed to charge past the offensive line and take down Jefferson junior running back David Benjamin three yards behind the line of scrimmage, handing the Indians a fourth and sixteen. Then, a couple plays later, senior defensive lineman James Fononga would do the same to Jefferson junior quarterback Damari Cual-Davis, forcing the Indians back seven more yards.
After a non-scoring third quarter, Stokman would induce excitement back in the home crowd with an interception early in the fourth. On the following play, Brandt took advantage of a lapse in the Indian defense with a 90-yard touchdown run with 10:08 left in the game.
On Jefferson’s next drive, the Dons regained possession with an interception at the 9:01 mark. Head coach Steve Sell took the remaining time to experiment with the lineup under junior backup quarterback Tanner Nguyen. Aragon would go on to win the game with a final score of 34-7.
The team will play their first road game against yet another opponent from the Lake Division, the El Camino Colts, on Saturday, Sept. 13 for their second game of the season.
