Amador Valley wins first NCS title with rout of Bishop O’Dowd

DUBLIN — The temperature at Dublin High School hovered in the low-40s for all of Friday night — not quite freezing, far from comfortable. By the middle of the game, a slight layer of fog hovered over the field. It was under these conditions that Danny Jones found himself being drenched with an ice-cold bucket of water.

On a night of this magnitude, one where Amador Valley outclassed Bishop O’Dowd in the North Coast Section Division II final and won its first NCS title in school history, Jones didn’t mind in the slightest. The making of history provided its own warmth.

“I’m speechless,” Jones said following the 42-18 victory. “I don’t even know what to say.”

There was no shortage of players who ultimately left Jones without words. Junior running back Ismael Duenas amassed 205 rushing yards on 22 carries. Senior quarterback Tristan Tia rushed for one touchdown and threw for two, both of which landed in the hands of senior wide receiver Ben Stout. Junior Anthony Harrington and senior Gabe Gyamfi both hauled in interceptions, the latter accounting for an 86-yard pick-six.

“I know it means a lot to my coach,” Tia said. “My coach did so much for me, so it means a lot to the team as well. It’s one of the best feelings, just going out on the field and seeing all the hard work you put in being shown.”

Tia, an Oregon State commit, didn’t fill up the box score on a night where the run game was so dominant (84 passing yards), but one of his first passes set the night in motion. On fourth-and-nine at Bishop O’Dowd’s 37-yard-line, Tia rolled out to his right and fired across his body on the run to Harrington for a 10-yard gain and a first down. Amador Valley parlayed that fourth-down conversion into a touchdown as Tommy Vespi found the end zone on a five-yard run up the middle. The Dons were successful on the two-point conversion as Tia scrambled into the end zone, and Amador Valley had an 8-0 lead — a lead they’d never lose.

Bishop O’Dowd’s response would not arrive until the second quarter as Saliou Sow rushed into the end zone for a four-yard score. With the exception of a 12-yard completion from quarterback Devin Wilson to receiver Jacob Knopp — one where Knopp used his tip toes to stay in bounds — Bishop O’Dowd exclusively ran the ball. All but one of the Dragons’ nine plays on this drive were on the ground, seven handoffs going to Sow. Amador Valley’s defense blocked the ensuing extra point, momentum that immediately carried over to the offensive end.

On the first play of Amador Valley’s ensuing possession, Ismael Duenas reeled off a 68-yard run — plus a Bishop O’Dowd penalty on a late hit. In one play, Amador Valley traveled from its own 20-yard-line to Bishop O’Dowd’s 12-yard line. Three plays later, Tia floated a perfect pass to Stout, who Moss’d a defender for six points. Amador Valley didn’t convert the two-point conversion, but held a 14-6 going into halftime.

Amador Valley opened up the second half by turning defense into offense. Harrington hauled in an interception in Bishop O’Dowd territory, and the Dons’ offense immediately parlayed the takeaway into points as Tia found the end zone on a quarterback sneak, expanding their lead to 22-6.

Bishop O’Dowd responded to Amador Valley’s touchdown with a touchdown of its own. Wilson threw a 34-yard deep ball to the back corner of the end zone in the region of Deji Ajose, who made a sliding catch on both knees that immediately energized the Dragons’ sideline.

The Dons, in turn, countered on their next two possessions with what amounted to a knockout blow. Amador Valley’s offense found the end zone as Tia connected with with Stout for a 35-yard touchdown. Not to be outdone was the defense, which put points on the board by way of Gyamfi’s pick-six.

These four drives, a span where four drives, the Dons expanded their lead from eight points to 24 points served as a microcosm of the game — anytime Bishop O’Dowd generated an ounce of momentum, Amador Valley snatched it right back.

“We just didn’t have the type of game we were expecting,” Bishop O’Dowd coach Hardy Nickerson said. “They ran the ball well on us. You have to tip your cap to them. Great football team, very physical up front and they made a lot of plays.”