Scripps Ranch Falcons 29 Patriots 22

Perseverance.  Intestinal fortitude.  Never give in.  Never give up.  Those would be the words I would use to describe yesterday's heart breaking loss at Scripps Ranch as the Patriots fell short to the Falcons 29-22.

Early on, the Patriot running game was unstoppable.  But mental mistakes, penalties and fumbles took that momentum away and we opened the door for the Falcons to take a 21-7 lead in the 3rd quarter.

But the Patriots got the ball back as the defense stopped the Falcons and marched down the field to pull with in a TD.  The Patriot defense bent but did not break and they were able to get the ball back in the 4th quarter. 

Again, the Patriots methodically marched down the field and rushed for another TD.  An offsides penalty on the extra point against the Falcons moved the ball to the 1 1/2 yard line.  The Patriots took the ball and ran over C Blake Liscom, RG Brian Tran, RT Tre Tyler and TE Josh Pelloquin and converted at 2 point conversion to take a 22-21 lead with 5:00 left in the game.

Scripps took the ensuing kickoff and ran the ball going 60 yards in 3:00.  They eventually scored taking a 29-22 lead with 1:54 left in the game. 

Unfortunately, we fumbled the following kickoff as the ball took a really crazy bounce.  The players were down, dejected and were left with very little hope.  Then the impossible happened.  The Scripps QB fumble the snap and NG Ernesto Moya came up with the fumble recovery.  Right then, the mood changed on our sideline.  Players were jumping and cheering and we now have a chance to win the game.

Sixtyfive yard to go.  1:45 left in the game.  No timeouts.  We practice this scenario every week.  Our players went into the 2 minute drill.  It was a thing of beauty to watch.  The offensive line was, as we say, "FAT-tastic" and QB Cruz Samaniego took control of the game as the field general.

Priority #1: Catch the ball.  Pelloquin and WB Adrian Torres took passes from Samaniego and Jon Bergum for decent gains. 

Priority #2: Stop the clock.  Players moved the ball down the field and knew that time was of the essence.  They were all smart enough to step out of bounds after the gain and stop the clock to give us time to re-group.

Priority #3: Score. Once we got down to the 10 yard line, we were poised to score the go ahead TD.  Unfortunately, life is filled with tragedy.   We threw the ball and one of the Falcon's defenders reached up and grabbed the ball, one handed, falling on his back and thus ending any hope for the Patriots.

Life is not about winning.  Life is about Perseverance.  Intestinal fortitude.  Never give in.  Never give up.  I could not be prouder of how our players finshed that game coming from behind.  I hope you were too.