Analy rallies for overtime win against Santa Rosa

Analy running back Kole Hunter broke through Santa Rosa's defense for a 15-yard touchdown in overtime Friday night to propel the Tigers to a 26-20 win and cap a thrilling game that kicked off week one of the 2019 high school football season.

Analy came back from a 12-0 deficit in the first quarter to pull ahead 14-12 at the half.

Santa Rosa regained the lead 20-14 on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Anderson to Roman Correa in the third, but Analy came right back with 6 of its own in the fourth to tie it at 20.

The point-after clanked off the upright to send the game into overtime.

Analy held the Panthers on their OT drive, as the Panthers were hurt by a false-start penalty.

“Then we got the ball and just pounded the rock,” said Analy coach James Foster.

About 15 yards out, the Tigers lined up and Santa Rosa blitzed, but an Analy running back was able to block a defender coming in from outside, Foster said.

That allowed Hunter to slip through and escape to the end zone for the win.

“They called the absolutely perfect play,” Santa Rosa coach Russell Ponce said. “We brought two guys off the edge to try to get through. But they got him the ball and he just outran everybody. Their quarterback made great calls the entire game. He was really good at reading our defense.”

Both teams missed opportunities earlier to take the lead.

The Panthers missed two two-point conversions in the first half and Analy missed a point-after attempt late.

Santa Rosa took an early 12-0 lead while forcing Analy to punt in its first four possessions.

The Panthers built on a 24-yard punt return from Nathan Lantow to put together a 51-yard scoring drive with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter.

Quarterback Trevor Anderson hit Roman Correa for two nice gains before connecting with Randy Clay on a 26-yeard scoring pass.

Santa Rosa missed another scoring opportunity on its next drive, marching in eight plays from their 4 yard line to Analy's 29.

But Tiger defensive back Nick Kraemer punched the ball from running back Kent Gamble's grip on a rush up the middle and Analy recovered the fumble at its own 16.

The Panthers was able to score in two plays on its next possession, when Correa beat both his defenders and Anderson hit him with a dart. Correa scampered in for a 46-yard touchdown.

Santa Rosa failed on both its two-point conversion tries.

Analy seemed to hit stride, though, halfway through the second quarter.

In a 10-play drive, the Tigers strung together gains of 12, 16, 15 and 9 on successive plays, alternating pass and run calls.

Santa Rosa's defense almost held the Tigers off at the goal line, but Analy quarterback Gavin Allingham was able to punch it through on a one-yard score.

The Tigers scored again two minutes later when Allingham connected with Vogel on a 34-yard pass and then an 11-yard touchdown.

Kicker Arthur Taganashi hit both the point-afters as his team took a 14-12 lead at the half.

In other Week 1 NBL and Vine Valley games:

Campolindo 40, Montgomery 0

Campolindo beat up on visiting Montgomery, 40-0, in Moraga, jumping out to a 26-0 lead in the first quarter and building it to 40-0 midway in the third period.

Vikings coach Vertis Patton knew scheduling a team that went to the North Coast Section semifinals last year would be a challenge. But he said he wanted to test his team, which won the inaugural title in the NBL-Redwood last season.

Campo's Will Windatt, a senior fullback, scored two touchdowns on the ground and one in the air.

Montgomery had an 80-yard pass play called back on a penalty just before the end of the first half and never regained much momentum.

Campo also returned a 35-yard interception for a touchdown with about a minute to go in the first quarter.

The Vikings visit Casa Grande in Petaluma next week in another nonleague game.

Douglas 52, Sonoma Valley 18

In Sonoma, the Dragons were able to move the ball, but hurt themselves with mistakes and penalties in a loss to Douglas of Minden, Nevada.

“They're a pretty big-size school for us,” Sonoma coach Hervy Williams said. “Their team was physically bigger than us. They seemed really organized, prepared. We made a lot of mental mistakes and were not very disciplined.”

Quarterback Jake Baker rushed for nearly 200 yards.

Baker put the Dragons on the board with a 75-yard run in the first half. In the second half, he connected with Junior Dominguez for another score.

Adrian Alvarez rushed for about 100 yards, Williams said, and scored a touchdown in the second half.

Next week, the Dragons travel to Forestville to face El Molino.

Tamalpais 27, Petaluma 19

Visiting Tamalpais dominated play in the first half and the Red-Tailed Hawks went on to hold off Petaluma in the season opener for both teams.

The Hawks outgained the Trojans 189-52 in the first half and they scored once in each quarter to take a commanding 14-0 lead at intermission.

Crew Hutson of Tamalpais put the first touchdown on the board with a 9-yard run after Petaluma set the Hawks up at midfield with a failed onside kick to start the game.

A gallop of 20 yards by Dante Ratto and a pair of quarterback power sneaks by Hartman helped Petaluma crawl back into the contest but the Trojans never were able to grab the lead.

Outside linebacker Mathew Salyers, Hartman and Mario Zarco turned in solid defensive performances for the Trojans. Zarco recovered a Red-Tailed Hawks fumble in the second quarter to halt a drive on the Trojan 33-yard line.

St. Bernard's 36, El Molino 7

The Lions dropped their first game but look for a win next week when they host Sonoma Valley.

Petaluma Argus-Courier writer George Haire contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.