Varsity Bruins clawed down the Bulldogs 14-13 to win their football league opener before an ecstatic home crowd on Friday.
The deciding points proved to be those for a safety scored in the opening quarter when lineman Rick Perez and tailback Tory McCuistion dived on the ball in the LeGrand end zone.
Running back Jon Blount added some more Bruin points in the second quarter on a six-yard touchdown run, but the kick was blocked.
Blount scored again in the third quarter carrying the ball on a two-yard run. Again, Riverbank failed to get the extra points in an attempted run.
The Bulldogs initial points came on an 11-yard pass for touchdown in the first drive of the game. They also scored on a 22-yard pass in the last quarter. But they missed the kick on their last touchdown and so lost even the chance of a tie.
"The LeGrand boys were a lot bigger and more physical than we expected," said head coach Matt Elkins. "But we played well. The kids showed a lot of heart. It was nice to win our first league game."
Key to the Bruins success were the special teams, especially the punt team, where Daniel DeCroix gave an excellent performance, he added.
DeCroix contributed some awesome punting, assistant coach Monte Wood agreed. One of his kicks took the Bruins to the Bulldogs three-yard line and led to the safety, which decided the game.
McCuistion, a transfer from Davis High School, forced two fumbles while playing defense and broke up a pass when LeGrand was driving down to score.
Perez played exceptionally well at defensive tackle. He has proved much better at this position than expected over the course of several games, said Wood.
Mike Dougherty chalked up an interception, his second of the year.
"We turned over the ball only two times instead of five times in the previous game," said Wood. "We've cut our mistakes and that helped us win."
The statistics show Riverbank with 147 yards of total offense, and LeGrand with 198.
In passing, the Bruin quarterback completed seven out of 12 passing attempts for 80 yards. LeGrand's figure was 7 of 14 for 99.
In rushing, Riverbank made 29 carries for 67 yards, and LeGrand 32 for 99.
The Bruins committed two fumbles but made one interception. The Bulldogs also made two fumbles and one turnover, but picked off two interceptions.
Penalties assessed were 9 for 70 against the Bruins, and 9 for 85 against the Bulldogs.
The deciding points proved to be those for a safety scored in the opening quarter when lineman Rick Perez and tailback Tory McCuistion dived on the ball in the LeGrand end zone.
Running back Jon Blount added some more Bruin points in the second quarter on a six-yard touchdown run, but the kick was blocked.
Blount scored again in the third quarter carrying the ball on a two-yard run. Again, Riverbank failed to get the extra points in an attempted run.
The Bulldogs initial points came on an 11-yard pass for touchdown in the first drive of the game. They also scored on a 22-yard pass in the last quarter. But they missed the kick on their last touchdown and so lost even the chance of a tie.
"The LeGrand boys were a lot bigger and more physical than we expected," said head coach Matt Elkins. "But we played well. The kids showed a lot of heart. It was nice to win our first league game."
Key to the Bruins success were the special teams, especially the punt team, where Daniel DeCroix gave an excellent performance, he added.
DeCroix contributed some awesome punting, assistant coach Monte Wood agreed. One of his kicks took the Bruins to the Bulldogs three-yard line and led to the safety, which decided the game.
McCuistion, a transfer from Davis High School, forced two fumbles while playing defense and broke up a pass when LeGrand was driving down to score.
Perez played exceptionally well at defensive tackle. He has proved much better at this position than expected over the course of several games, said Wood.
Mike Dougherty chalked up an interception, his second of the year.
"We turned over the ball only two times instead of five times in the previous game," said Wood. "We've cut our mistakes and that helped us win."
The statistics show Riverbank with 147 yards of total offense, and LeGrand with 198.
In passing, the Bruin quarterback completed seven out of 12 passing attempts for 80 yards. LeGrand's figure was 7 of 14 for 99.
In rushing, Riverbank made 29 carries for 67 yards, and LeGrand 32 for 99.
The Bruins committed two fumbles but made one interception. The Bulldogs also made two fumbles and one turnover, but picked off two interceptions.
Penalties assessed were 9 for 70 against the Bruins, and 9 for 85 against the Bulldogs.
