An evenly matched football game with the teams trading the lead ended up with Denair coming up just short of what would have been the tying score in Saturday night’s 36-30 non-league loss to Big Valley Christian of Modesto.
“Everybody thought it was exciting, but I didn’t like the outcome,” summed up Denair Coach Anthony Armas.
The Coyotes, trailing by six points, were threatening to knot the score late in the fourth quarter. They had third down and 1 on the Big Valley 3-yard line, but a mishandled pitch cost them four yards. Then on fourth down, sophomore quarterback Derek Potter couldn’t connect on a pass near the goal line.
Just like that, Denair’s comeback attempt was over.
Still, there were many positives for Armas to take away; in particular, the performances of Potter (9 of 13 passing, 188 yards and one touchdown), fullback Degan Butler (19 carries, 107 yards, three TDs) and the offensive line.
“Anytime you have a sophomore who shows the poise he did, that’s impressive,” Armas said. “He completed 70% of passes and threw the ball well.”
Armas also was impressed by Butler as well as the guys who blocked for him.
“Butler ran hard and our O-line played pretty well. We had long drives all night. We didn’t punt once,” he said.
A back-and-forth first half featuring a lot of offense ended in a 22-22. Butler’s third touchdown – a 22-yard scamper to open the third quarter – followed by a two-point conversion put Denair in front 30-22.
Big Valley tied the game late in the third period, then took the lead with a nice drive in the fourth quarter. That led to Denair’s final possession, which unfortunately came up a few yards short.
“I thought our offense played really well, but the defense didn’t play up to its capabilities,” Armas said. “We didn’t tackle very well. We had guys running right by ball carriers. I think we can get better. If we had performed up to par, I think we win that game.”
This week, Denair faces another tough task with a road game against Summerville, which knocked off Ripon Christian 24-21 on Friday night.
“Summerville is pretty tough. They’re legit,” Armas said. “It’s going to be physical challenge. It’s a good measuring stick to where we’re at.”
