Final thoughts on Glendora’s victory over Ayala
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Friday’s Sierra League game turned when Glendora emptied the kitchen sink and threw everything at Ayala QB Matt Baca. The defensive pressure led to Baca never getting comfortable in the pocket and, eventually, a 24-17 victory for the Tartans.
‘We made him have to think about his throws a lot,’ said Glendora Coach Mark Pasquarella. ‘If you noticed, he had to hold on to the ball a long time and think about some stuff. We were happy with the way we played on defense after the start we got off to.’
Defensive end Garrett Bowdry said: ‘We did pretty good, better then usual with our sack and pressure. We knew they were a passing team. They didn’t run much on us, so we just put pressure on the quarterback.’
Ayala got out to a 14-point lead and Glendora looked as if it had no answer to the Bulldogs’ passing game. That’s when the pressure was turned up. Linebacker Chad Young was the first to really get to Baca when, early in the second quarter, he forced the QB to fumble and then recovered the ball. That led to Glendora’s first touchdown.
After that Baca was under non-stop pressure the rest of the game.
He got a handle on Glendora’s pass rush a little bit by the time the fourth quarter came along, but the Tartans’ defense was always there to make life uncomfortable for the Bulldogs’ signal-caller.
On fourth and goal from the 2 yard-line, Baca took the snap, saw no one open and began to scramble. There were two defenders between him and the goal line, so he stopped, scanned the field for a receiver and before he realized no one was open, got sacked with 5 minutes left.
Ayala forced Glendora to punt and got the ball back. The Bulldogs were moving the ball, but under pressure from Bowdry and Robert Horn, Baca stepped up in the pocket and decided to jump and throw at the same time. Glendora’s Alex Nichols picked off the jump pass.
‘He’s still a great player,’ Glendora Coach Pasquarella said. ‘He’s very good.’
Baca was very good -- maybe not his best -- but still very good. I can see why he is getting all the pub, but give it up to the Glendora front seven for making life difficult for him all night. They were the difference-makers in this game.
-- Jaime Cardenas
-- Image from www.dkimages.com