Inland Empire- The Los Osos Grizzlies needed a strong outing from their defense and proved they can hold the fort in a close bout with James Logan. Donovan Smith was plenty accurate and directed his offense for just enough plays, hanging on to a 16-14 win.
Los Osos had the upper hand in the first half, but that didn’t mean the Colts defense wrecked havoc. The Grizzlies’ opening drive was halted after a 4th and 4 from the Colts 14 yard line was stopped a yard short. Eventually Donovan Smith got the offense rolling, setting for three on their second drive.
After being pinned at their own 10 after a Colts punt, Smith goes 90 yards capped off by a strike to Solomon Davis to make it 10-0. On the ensuing kickoff, Jeremiah Patterson races out to midfield, and then catches a 30 yard strike that got the Colts offense on track for firs time. A 4 yard rushing touchdown by Shamoun Duncan-Niusulu near the end of the first half made it 10-6 in favor of the Grizzlies.
After a defensive stand in the third quarter, James Logan took the lead with Niusulu’s quarterback keeper for two yards, all set up from Chase Sims’s big run from about 20 yards deep into the Grizzlies red zone. James Logan ends up going for two to make it a 14-10 Colts lead.
The ensuing drive for Los Osos however proved to be the final dagger with a 4th down conversion that had the Colts use a time out on 4th and 4 at midfield. A face mask penalty against the Colts in the red zone also extended the Grizzlies drive by one play, which proved to be enough as Smith finds Destin Harston for a 12 yard strike, giving the lead right back to Los Osos.
James Logan out of timeouts had one final gasp. Sims raced to the Grizzly 30 yard line with over a minute to go, but they fail to pick up another first down with Niusulu stopped a yard shy from the marker.
Los Osos will have a short time off as they will face Dorsey from the LA City Section Thursday night. James Logan will head back to Northern California to face Dublin.
