Broncos win 2nd straight in shootout, beating Shandon

The Coast Union football team, which was shut out during its first three games and had scored a total of 56 points this season, found its offense against the Shandon Outlaws in posting its second straight win, 66-44.

The Broncos improved their Coast Valley League record to 2-1 with the victory in 82-degree weather at Shandon. The last game of the season for the Broncos will be the school’s Homecoming against the Maricopa Indians, set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28. It will be broadcast on KTEA-FM (103.5).

At Shandon, quarterback Riley Kennedy played a strong game on offense and defense. Kennedy passed for 93 yards and had two touchdown passes — a 34-yard pass to Emany Plasencia and a 5-yard pass to Anthony Stonehill, who also picked up 18 yards on a completion from Kennedy.

The offensive statistics reflect that Kennedy gained 138 yards running from scrimmage; several times he picked up yardage when he decided to run the ball after going back to pass but finding no open receivers.

Indeed, Coast Union had much of it success running the ball.

Juan Meja gained 183 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown run. Manny Molina picked up 142 yards, including a 30-yard score and a 28-yard touchdown. Damian Fernandez picked up 9 yards from scrimmage including a 2-yard scamper for a two-pointer after a touchdown.

Plasencia continued his brilliant kicking by booting five kickoffs well into the end zone for touchbacks (resulting in no returns by the Outlaws). Plasencia kicked five of six extra point attempts.

On defense, Kennedy made two interceptions of Shandon passes, returning the ball 10 yards on one and 25 on the other. Kennedy was moved to the safety position in the second half after Shandon had success with passing deep, over the heads of the Broncos.

Also on defense, Diego Leonardo made three tackles; Eddie Camacho had three tackles and two assists. Warren Smith had a pair of tackles and two assists; Meja had three tackles; and Luis Aguilar, Spencer Magnuson and Gabriel Terrasas each had one tackle. Fernandez chipped in with a tackle and an assist.

The Broncos committed 11 penalties (false starts; holding; and delay of game), and attempted two trick plays that did not work.

“On the offense side, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” coach Thom Holt said. “This game was the most we have been flagged for penalties all season. Fortunately, our offensive was able to overcome most of these fouls.

“With all that has gone with this team throughout the season, these kids have shown maturity beyond their years.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Broncos win 2nd straight in shootout, beating Shandon."