Friday, November 16, 2007

Ride ends for Devils

ELK GROVE - After one quarter on Friday, it looked like the Davis High School football team had a formula for a playoff upset. The Blue Devils led Pleasant Grove 14-0 and had all of the momentum.

But a big second quarter by the home team turned that momentum right back and the Eagles went on to win 28-14 in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Section Playoffs at Sheldon High.

DHS (7-4) recovered a fumble by Deonte Williams in the first quarter and Jake Lubisch scored from two yards out for the first touchdown. Mauricio Davidson caught a 19-yard touchdown from Scott Malinoff to make it 14-0 with 55 seconds left in the period.

But Pleasant Grove quarterback Taylor Congdon threw for two touchdowns and ran in another in the second quarter to help his team take a 21-14 lead at halftime. Greg Williams ran in the final score in the fourth quarter.

Malinoff finished 18-for-30 for 242 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Davidson caught nine balls for 137 yards. Lubisch was held to 18 yards on the ground.

Williams, nicknamed "Bling," led Pleasant Grove with 153 yards rushing and 75 yards receiving, including an electric 72-yard touchdown on third down in the second quarter. That was one of the plays of the game. By the way, the Eagles' USC-bound, two-way lineman Armond Armstead was as good as advertised, flattening players and even lining up as a blocking back on his team's scoring drive in the final quarter.

The Blue Devils, making their first playoff appearance since 1995, picked up 51 yards of penalties and they seem to come at the worst times.

For more on the game, check out Sunday's Enterprise.

- Chris Saur

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