Italy survives thriller over Cayuga, 34-26

After Italy fumbled the ball away on the opening kickoff, Cayuga mounted a 6-play drive resulting in a 9-yard rollout to the left by Cayuga’s Gunner Douglas, who crossed the goal line untouched. A straight-ahead handoff to fullback Jaden Davis put 2 more points on the board for the Wildcats.

Trailing 8-0, The Gladiators started their next drive from their own 37-yard line. A couple of runs by junior tailback Eric Solis, and a false start penalty, set up a miracle of sorts for the Glad’s who were staring at a 3rd-and-7 from their own 41.

Senior quarterback Gared Wood threw a quick pass to the left that skipped off the hands of his intended receiver but luckily landed into the clutches of senior receiver Corey “Lucky” Johnson. Johnson then juked and sprinted his way for the score, thanks to the fortunate careen and catch that covered 59 yards. Junior kicker Rogelio Torres-Landeros was true on the point-after kick, helping Italy to tighten the deficit, but with Cayuga still in front 8-7.

Cayuga started their next drive from their own 28 but needed only three plays to reach Italy’s 28-yard line, with Douglas doing most of the ground gaining. The Wildcats’ drive stalled there, however, and the Gladiators now had the ball at their own 27 after Cayuga turned it over on downs.

On 4th-and-8 from their 31, Italy executed a fake punk with Woods managing just enough for the 1st down, keeping the drive alive. 2 plays later, Wood connected downfield to Johnson who made the catch in stride this time, running untouched for his second TD reception of the game. The big-time play gave the Gladiators a 13-8 edge. The point-after kick failed.

An 11-play drive by Cayuga advanced the game into the second-quarter, and to midfield, However, tackles by Italy’s senior defensive end Treylan Fennel and junior linebacker Tristan Camacho, along with multiple penalties charged to the offense, stalled the Wildcats who were forced to punt.

Cayuga started from their 35. From there, Douglas just needed two carries to cross the goal line, the latter covering 30 yards, to regain the advantage for the Wildcats. The two-point conversion try failed but Cayuga was back on top 14-13 going into halftime.

Cayuga added another score in the third when senior tailback Shiloh Peckham shot through the middle from 8 yards out, 20-13 Wildcats. Again, the two-point conversion attempt failed.

Cayuga then picked off an Italy pass, only to have their ensuing drive halted after making a catch into Gladiator territory. Italy’s junior corner Raul Acosta’s jarring hit forced the ball loose with Acosta recovering the gift as well. The play gave Italy new life at their own 30-yard line.

On 4th-and-15 from their 31, Wood passed right to Fennell, who made the catch shy of the sticks, but drug 3 Wildcat defenders 9 yards to pick up the first down. Italy was in business at Cayuga’s 36.

Looking at a 4th-and-1 at Cayuga’s 22-yard line, Wood rolled out right and then fought his way to the 17 for a key 1st down going into the final quarter. Cayuga’s 20-13 lead was now in jeopardy.

It took a bit against Cayuga’s stingy defense, but Wood finally punched it in on a 1-yard QB sneak behind junior center Grayson Jones, and senior guards J.J. Acosta and Maddox Dickerson. The point-after kick by Torres-Landeros tied the contest and now it came down to who wanted it more.

Starting inside Italy’s 50-yard line after a solid kickoff return, Douglas would eventually do the honors by rolling left and keeping it for an 18-yard touchdown. Italy’s sophomore defensive end Brayden Enriquez fell on a fumble in Cayuga’s backfield to spoil the two-point try, but the Wildcats were sitting pretty with a 6-point advantage late, 26-20.

Cayuga’s cheers soon faded, when Wood scampered 43 yards to tie the game at 26-all. Imagine the pressure as Torres-Landeros confidently booted through the point-after to put the Gladiators up by one, 27-26.

After a Cayuga punt, Italy gave it right back by throwing a pic inside the Wildcat twenty. Cayuga quickly neared midfield relying on their running game when Camacho stripped the ball allowing Raul Acosta to pounce on it. Wood knew what to do with the rock on the very next play and singed the ‘Cat defense with a 47-yard heartbreaker. Torres-Landeros added the bonus point as Italy would go on to survive a thriller, 34-26 over Cayuga.

Wood finished with 150 yards rushing on 16 carries and 3 rushing TDs. He also completed 3-of-9 passes for 144 yards and 2 TDs by air. Eric Solis carried 8 times for 28 yards, Raul Acosta had 1 carry for 8 yards, and Tristan Camacho had 1 carry for 1 yard.

Johnson’s final tally on the night was 2 receptions for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Treylan Fennell had 1 catch for 18 yards.

To lead Italy defensively, Camacho finished with 4 solo tackles, 3 assists, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. Senior DB Terence Jones had 4 solos, 2 assists, and 1 forced fumble, freshman OLB Tripp Slovak recorded 5 solo tackles, Fennell had 2 solos, 4 assists, and 1 fumble recovery, DT J.J. Acosta recorded 2 solos and 4 assists, little brother Raul Acosta recovered a fumble, Enriquez had 1 assist and 1 fumble recovery, junior DE Andre Brown had 2 tackles and 1 assist, and senior linebacker Masyn Steinmetz recorded 1 solo tackle.

Despite the loss, Cayuga saw an underclassman step up: Gunner Douglas rushed for 237 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 9.1 yards per carry. The dominant performance gave Douglas a new career-high in rushing yards.

Italy (3-1) will face visiting Valley Mills to start district play on Friday at Gladiator Stadium, Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

As for Cayuga, they will face off against Inspired Vision at 7 p.m. on Friday.