On Saturday, Nov. 2, the Archie Williams varsity football team played the Healdsburg High School Hounds in a close and suspenseful game. The Falcons left the field victorious with a score of 42-41. The Falcons, fresh off of a 35-0 loss to Sonoma Valley High School, came in with high hopes of winning the game.
The Falcons dominated the game early in the first quarter as sophomore running back Nate Ryan and junior quarterback Ronan Foley connected for the first touchdown of the game.
Senior Gianni Testa caught an interception, leaving the Falcons at the 22-yard line for their first down. Ronan then threw a 20-yard pass to senior Isaac Pierce, scoring a second touchdown for the Falcons and Senior Arlo Maury completed the extra point, distancing the Falcons early on with a score of 20-0.
“Working as a whole team, keeping our heads up through the tough times, and just working together on offense… that’s what’s good about us. We don’t have any individuals who shine in our team,” Isaac said.
Starting off the second quarter, the Hounds completed their first touchdown, setting Archie Williams back 20-7. The Falcons had a short-lived offensive possession, quickly turning the ball over to the Hounds. The Hounds followed with a completed pass into the endzone, wrapping up the first half at 20-14.
In the next play, senior cornerback Lincoln Tithof tackled a Healdsburg receiver, popping the ball out, which Gianni quickly recovered. Arlo scored a field goal, leaving the score 23-13 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Following the field goal, senior wide receiver Logan Burke recovered the onside kick placing the Falcons at the 39-yard line.
Ronan connected with Gianni to score another touchdown for Archie Williams. The Hounds pushed on and completed a touchdown, sending the score to 29-21 and ending the third quarter.
Going into the fourth quarter, despite very strong defensive efforts from the Falcons, the Hounds drew a 10-yard penalty. After a chaotic turn of events, Healdsburg closed the gap, scoring a touchdown and tying up the score at 35-35. With both teams unable to score in the remaining time, the game went into overtime.
Healdsburg started off overtime with the ball, enabling them to score a touchdown and complete the extra point making the score 35-42. The Falcons came back determined on offense with a crucial first down catch by Isaac, and Arlo securing the touchdown. The Falcons took a two-point conversion and were able to score, finally winning the game in overtime.
“I think our offense played really well. We had a lot of big plays, and a lot of people stepped up. At the end, obviously, in the last play, Arlo made a great catch,” Nate said.
The players rushed the field and the crowd, and the exuberant crowd cheered uncontrollably, ending this suspenseful game 43-42 with a much-needed win for the Falcons. The Falcons will go into their next game against Piner High School on Saturday 11/9, with high spirits and energy.
“It’s gonna be a tough game. We absolutely know that we have to solidify some things on both offense and defensive, special teams like we do every week, and we just [have] to focus in because we’re trying to get into a position for playoffs,” said Falcons offensive coach Jen Hanley.
