Lower Lake scores late to knock off Esparto in opener
ESPARTO >> After watching a 22-7 lead disappear in the fourth quarter, Lower Lake didn’t panic. Jason Gandeza’s rushing touchdown with 4:19 left lifted the Trojans to a 30-22 victory during varsity football action Friday in Esparto.
Gandeza not only ran for a pair of scores in Lower Lake’s win, but he led the team with 12 tackles, most of them resulting in losses, and he also forced a fumble.
“Jason was excellent defensively all night,” Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said.
Quarterback Ashton Hartmann passed for 194 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown strike to Zakai Vilmenay, and he also ran for a score. Vilmenay led the Trojans with 57 rushing yards and would have had more had not a penalty wiped out a long touchdown run. Zach Jones contributed another 46 yards on the ground and his two-point conversion run following Gandeza’s go-ahead touchdown gave Lower Lake an eight-point cushion. Jones also figured prominently on defense with eight tackles.
Hartmann’s favorite targets were Jimmy Shankles and Luke Campbell, each with 66 yards receiving. Shankles also figured among team leaders in tackles with five.
Other standouts on defense were strong safety Anthony Russell (six tackles), Noel Perria (five tackles), defensive end Edgar Ontiveros (four tackles, one sack), and Brody Shields (four tackles).
“We started the game well, limiting their opportunities and moving the ball on offense,” Jakubowski said. “Unfortunately, we struggled at times to finish drives and some untimely penalties assisted them in maintaining possession while forcing us to get off schedule offensively.”
The Trojans finished with 337 yards of total offense.
Esparto falls to 0-2 on the season.
Lower Lake hosts Kennedy (1-0) of Richmond on Friday. Junior varsity action starts at 5 p.m.
