High school football: Pleasant Grove pulls away late to spoil Lodi's home opener
Aug. 18—After three quarters of a defensive slog left Lodi and Pleasant Grove tied with a touchdown apiece heading into the final frame, things fell apart for the Lodi High football team.
The result was a 30-14 loss in the opening game of the Joe Rohles era of Lodi football.
"The thing is that we've got to focus. We've got to maintain focus throughout the game," Rohles said. "They score, we need to focus on our job, on the return, on the next offensive play, and keep playing our brand of football."
Things seemed to be looking up for Lodi when Flames quarterback Matt Shin found receiver Brody Mackey streaking down the hash marks for a 43-yard touchdown, putting lodi up 14-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter. But Pleasant Grove responded second later with a 99-yard kickoff return by Bobby Bell.
The extra-point attempt failed, but the momentum had shifted. Lodi suffered a three-and-out, and Pleasant Grove drove down to the 10-yard line for a 27-yard Leslie Simmons field goal and a 16-14 lead.
The lead wouldn't change hands again in the final 5:52.
"I think we were tired," Rohles said. "We've got to be able to Monday through Thursday, compete in practice, keep getting better."
And while Lodi put up some sumbers — Shinn finished with 103 rushing yards and 102 passing yards, along with 82 rushing yards from Jordan Sandoval — the Flames had trouble getting to open space and finding a rhythm.
"I don't think it was what they were doing, I think it was all on us," Rohles said. "The lack of a scrimmage, we really need to find the identity that we need to be on offense, we've got to find out what kind of team we want to be. That's the bottom line. We just have to focus, and just keep doing our job and play Lodi football."
After another Lodi three-and-out that ended with a failed fourth-down attempt from the Flames' 23-yard line, Pleasant Grove needed just three plays to score, with quarterback Cole Davis scoring on a 1-yard sneak.
Davis completed 8 of 19 passes for 131 yards, while the Eagles moved the ball steadily on the ground.
After an interception cut Lodi's next drive short, Pleasant Grove's Caden Bemis took the ball up the middle and broke away for a 94-yard touchdown run to complete the fourth-quarter avalanche of scoring.
Lodi opened the game strong, forcing a three-and-out on defense and driving for a score on its first drive. Shinn scored on a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak, breaking through the pile for a 40-yard score.
Pleasant Grove answered, scoring on a 15-yard Davis pass to Charlemagne Johle on a quick slant.
And that's where the score stood until the fourth quarter, with the two teams jockeying for field position and the occasional excitement — a Lodi field goal attempt blocked, a Davis pass intercepted by Lodi's Chase Whiting, and a handful of fourth-down attempts gone awry.
So what's next for Lodi?
"Forget it, move on to the next game. We've got Downey, and they're not going to make it easy," Rohles said. "We've got to have a great week of practice, we've got to have 100% buy-in, and we've got to be able to play Lodi High football."
Galt 14, Franklin-Stockton 6
The Warriors opened the season with a close victory on the road, with a touchdown run and a punt return touchdown from Kayson Jones. Galt coach Jason Burgin said Jones and Hunter Freeman had "standout performances in all phases of the game."
