Big plays turn against Rancho Mirage in home loss to Tahquitz
It was a game of big plays between the Rancho Mirage Rattlers and the Tahquitz Titans on Friday night. Unfortunately for the Rattlers, most of those big plays went in favor of Tahquitz as Rancho Mirage lost 45-21 on a hot, windy and dusty night at Jerry Argovitz Stadium.
"We just had some crucial mistakes at key moments that really changed the outcome of the game," Rancho Mirage head coach L.D. Matthews said after his team fell to 1-1 on the season. "Hats off to Tahquitz. They are a very physical, tough team, athletic. But we just didn't execute on things we practiced all week."
Tahquitz, from Hemet and now 3-0 on the season, scored two defensive touchdowns in the second half and hit on a 98-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter that iced the victory.
Aside from the two defensive touchdowns, one on a 48-yard interception return early in the third quarter and another on a backward pass that hit the ground for Tahquitz to pick up and run 50 yards for a score, the Titans controlled the game with a grinding rushing game that produced three touchdowns.
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All three of those ground scores for the Titans were from David Toney, including two 2-yard runs in the first half for a 14-0 lead. The Rattlers came back with a 3-yard scoring pass from Luke Hershberger to Kobee Finnikin, but the Rattlers were never able to get closer than 10 points in the second half after trailing 17-7 at halftime.
"It's just executing offense and defense," Rancho Mirage running back Jeremiah Williams said. "It's the little things. It's the discipline, the small mistakes, making those plays, getting on our blocks, giving our quarterback time to throw."
Matthews said he didn't think that having last week's game canceled because of practice issues because of Tropical Storm Hilary hurt the Rattlers too much, although missing the practices last week and heat-related practice issues this week didn't help.
"We had opportunities tonight at crucial parts of the game and we just didn't execute," Matthews said. "That's what it comes down to."
The moment
The Rattlers trailed 38-21 late in the fourth quarter but had Tahquitz pinned on its own 2-yard line for a third-and-17 play. Tahquitz quarterback Romeo Evans found receiver Johnny Johnson on a deep slant, and Johnson broke out of two tackles before racing for a 98-yard score. The Rattlers went from looking to have the ball in Tahquitz territory after a punt to being down 45-21.
The stars
Williams, stepping in at running back for an injured Angel Duran, produced 136 yards on 16 carries and had the biggest play of the night for the Rattlers, a 49-yard run for a score in the fourth quarter that gave the Rattlers some life in the game.
Kobee Finnikin had the one touchdown reception and 32 yards receiving while Jeremiah Johnson had five catches for 95 yards from Hershberger, who added a 12-yard scoring run of his own.
Matthews said that while Hershberger threw two interceptions, he didn't have much time to throw and hung in the pocket to make some big throws.
The chatter
Matthews said the Rattlers offense simply didn't execute when the game had a chance to be much closer than the final score.
"This is a whole team thing on the offensive side of the ball," Matthews said. "We had some things we could have taken advantage of, but we just didn't make the plays today. And we have to learn from this, because we've got another tough team coming to town next week in Norte Vista."
But Matthews also said the loss and the tough competition should make the Rattlers a stronger team for Desert Empire League play.
The takeaway
On a tough night for conditions and against a team that was bigger and played physical football, the Rattlers struggled at times to run the ball effectively or to stop the Titans' rushing game. Several veteran members of the Rattlers defense were vocal in their disappointment over Tahquitz posting 45 points, but the Titans might be as tough a team as the Rattlers will face the rest of the year.
What's next
The Rattlers will be home next week against Norte Vista, 1-1 on the year but a 49-6 winner over Shadow Hills on Thursday night
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Big plays turn against Rancho Mirage in home football loss to Tahquitz
