Football (Friday 9/23/22)

The Amador Valley High School Dons (3-1) defeated the Foothill Falcons (2-3) in a thrilling 14-7 overtime victory. 

Both crowds brought high energy to the stadium, but a scoreless first quarter ended left the fans wondering when one of their teams would be able to drive the ball into the end zone. 

In the second quarter, Amador drove the ball down the field with Jake Goldsworthy (‘24) carrying the ball for the majority of the way. The first score of the game came when Amador’s quarterback Ryan Cannon (‘23) finally found James Rothstein (‘23) in the end zone. After a successful field goal kick by Riley Balch (‘23), the score was 7-0. 

Foothill got possession of the ball and was able to use their passing game to find holes in Amador’s defense, and soon it was Foothill’s wide receiver Jensen McMillin (‘23) who caught a short midfield pass and ran it in for a touchdown to answer back. At halftime, the game was tied 7-7. 

The second half was filled with constant pressure from Amador’s defensive linemen. Rothstein and Brady Nassar (‘23) came off the edges to force Foothill’s quarterback into hurries and sacks. 

On the other side, Foothill’s run defense did not allow the Dons to find any gaps. Despite a long run by Goldsworthy and an interception by Miles Tucker (‘23), Cannon was unable to find his targets. The score remained 7-7 late into the fourth quarter. 

After being unable to get into field goal range for much of the game, Foothill drove the ball down into field goal range & tried to kick for the win, but with three seconds left on the clock, Amador blocked the potential game-winning kick, which sent the game to overtime.

Amador started the first overtime with the ball at the 20-yard line. The drive ended with a one-yard rushing touchdown by Goldsworthy. 

Foothill tried to retaliate, the Dons shut down Foothill’s passing game for four straight plays. The Falcons went four-and-out on the final drive of the game to seal the victory for Amador Valley High School. 

“The win is a big deal to everyone but especially those who were on the team for last year’s loss. Revenge is sweet but that’s one of the many accomplishments we as a team are planning on achieving this season. P-town is purple again,” said Nassar.

Amador’s next game will be at home against Menlo School.

Girls Volleyball (Thursday 9/22/22)

Thursday night the Amador Valley High School Girls Varsity Volleyball team beat their cross-town rivals Foothill High School on their home court 3-1. This game was one of their eight wins so far this school year.

“We didn’t really get in our heads too much. We were very consistent. We used the crowd and the energy very well, so it was very fun,” said Outside Hitter Madison May (23’). 

The Dons had a strong start to their first set and overtook the Falcons in Game 1 to win 25-20.  Foothill gained some momentum during the second set and overcame the Dons to to win 21- 25.  

The third match was a back and forth fight between the rivals, but then Amador picked up momentum at the end and beat the Falcons 25-19.

Packed bleachers full of both Amador and Foothill fans made it impossible to hear over the cheers and chants for both high schools. Every point created deafening cheers that could be heard across the campus. 

Amador starting the fourth set with the momentum, but Foothill wasn’t giving up easily. The two teams battled back and forth, but at 24-22, Foothill’s serve to Katie O’Sullivan (’24) became a perfect pass to Senior Setter Sam Riter, which turned into a perfect set to Outside Hitter Charlotte Kelly (25’), who put away the ball to end the match.

The entire stand emptied onto the court to celebrate the Amador Valley High School Dons beating their rivals the Foothill Falcons 25-22.

the Lady Dons have played a total of 9 games this season and have an overall record of 8-1. They currently stand at 4-1 in EBAL’s and are ranked behind #1 San Ramon Valley High School and #2 Monte Vista High School. 

“I’m mostly excited about playing other teams like San Ramon and Monte Vista and seeing what we do at NCS and hopefully even state again. Last year we lost to Monte Vista in the finals of NCS and I hope this year, now we’ll hopefully see them again there and pull through and win this time” said Kelly.

The Dons will face the Falcons for the final time this season on Oct. 20th at Foothill High School.

Next week Amador will compete against Dublin away and Carondelet at home.