Capital Christian Football Falls to River Valley

With a new coaching staff, a new system in place and new permanent field lights installed, the varsity football team looked ready for its 2011 home opener.

The Cougars played well but in the end River Valley High School was too much to handle. Capital Christian lost under the CCS Charles Massie Stadium lights 18-6 on Friday.

New Cougars head coach Phil Grams said the Falcons knew how to defend his attack because they used to run the same fly offense.

He said this game was a learning process for his guys.

“We’re still learning how to win as a football team. We had our chances, we took the lead,” Grams said. “We still need to learn how to take care of the little things, the little mistakes and understand situations in ballgames.”

The game started out well for Capital Christian. Senior defensive back Javon Lee had an interception off quarterback Gregory Cannon.

The Cougars didn’t take advantage of the turnover and had to punt. This would be a recurring theme as both squads recorded three turnovers. It was River Valley who capitalized on them.

“They just executed and we didn’t. They executed their offense and we didn’t,” Grams said. “Our defense executed pretty well all night. At some point they just kept coming at us.”

Junior Matt Bailey was forced to come in for senior quarterback Jacob Woehler in the third quarter after he was injured.

Bailey fumbled the ball on his first play at the helm after getting crushed by the River Valley defense. Defensive end Wade Debartolo fell on the football for the Falcons on the Capital Christian 19-yard line.

The game’s biggest play was a Falcons’ first and goal from the one-yard line. Cannon swept to the left and reached his arm out in the end zone before falling out of bounds.

He appeared to fumble the ball before reaching the goal line. The refs didn’t see it that way. The play broke the 6-6 tie with 4:14 remaining in the third quarter.

“We thought he didn’t have possession when he crossed the goal line. That’s a touchback, not a touchdown,” Grams said, “But as a football team you have to be able to bounce back from that adversity.”

Cannon didn’t have the best day throwing the ball (eight of 15, 48 yards and two interceptions), but he was able to run tall over the field (nine carries, 76 yards and two touchdowns).

River Valley running back Jordan Pankey put the game away with a 24-yard scamper to the end zone with 3:03 remaining in the game.

Pankey nearly had the entire Cougar defense on his back during the play.

Coach welcomes new stadium lights

Coming from Division I powerhouse Granite Bay, Grams said he is used to playing under the lights. He added that the is going to be huge for the program.

“I am really grateful for the Capital Christian community who got this light project done so that we could have a top-notch facility to come and play at,” Grams said.

Capital Christian sophomore defensive lineman Nifae Lealao had a great game (eight tackles, two sacks, one blocked punt an a blocked extra point).

“Nifae Lealao, the super sophomore on the defensive line,” Grams said. “He dominated the line of scrimmage the entire night.”

A couple of Grams’ assistants from Granite Bay followed him to the Cougars. Former Christian Brothers head coach Andre Johansen did also.

Grams said they couldn’t ask for a better job in the world.

“Being around great people everyday is a huge blessing. They welcomed me with open arms, welcomed my coaching staff with open arms, a whole new system with open arms,” he said. “It’s more than a place to work, it’s a community to live in.”

Capital Christian (1-3) will try to rebound from this loss on Sept. 30 against Calaveras.