Highlanders drop close WACC matchup
The Piedmont High School boys football team came up short in a West Alameda County Conference Mission League game at Tennyson on Oct. 23, 35-33. The Highlanders fell to 2-6, 1-2 league with the loss.
Piedmont is scheduled to play at Pinole Valley on Oct. 30 in a nonleague game.
The Lancers (6-2) got out to an early lead in the first half. Azariel Ornelas scored on a two-yard run in the first quarter. A missed conversion left the score at 6-0.
The Highlanders responded with an eight-play, 82-yard drive capped by a 51-yard pass from Cyrus Emanuelon to Mateo Long to take their only lead of the game at 7-6.
Tennyson went back up late in the first quarter on a six-yard run by Cedric Whitaker III. Quarterback Grayson Brown ran the two-point conversion in for a 14-7 lead.
A 26-yard run by Brown set up a one-yard touchdown by Ornelas to make it 21-7.
Piedmont got a score back late in the half when Samuelson completed his second touchdown pass of the night, this time to Diego Hurwitz.
Whitaker ran for another touchdown in the third quarter, this time from nine yards out. It was a fantastic run, with Whitaker getting denied going to his left, then going all the way to the right side for the score.
An offside penalty on the Highlanders on the conversion led to the Lancers going for two. This time, lineman Malachi Su lined up as quarterback and ran it in.
Piedmont got close on a Samuelson to Long pass from 30 yards out. A bad snap on the conversion left it at 29-26 with four minutes, three seconds left in the game.
Whitaker busted loose for an 85-yard touchdown to all but ice the game. He finished with 176 yards on 14 carries. Brown had 108 on four carries.
The Highlanders were able to zip down the field and score in the final minute, this time on a five-yard pass from Samuelson to George Saunders. Samuelson finished the night completing 16 of 29 passes for 206 yards and the four touchdowns against an interception.
Ben Gerber’s onside kick was recovered by Subhan Nawabi and the Lancers ran out the clock.