Granite Falls floods East Jefferson in fourth-quarter football shootout

Posted

The East Jefferson Rivals lost 20-19 in their season opener against the Granite Falls Tigers Friday, Sept. 3.

With three touchdowns in the last eight minutes of the fourth quarter, the nail-biter of a game finished as a devastating defeat for East Jefferson by a razor-thin margin.

The Rivals started strong in the first quarter with a 10-yard touchdown run from sophomore quarterback Cash Holmes, who put the Rivals in the lead.

Granite Falls responded back with a 3-yard touchdown run from senior running back Giovani Gonzalez in the last three minutes of the second quarter, but failed to convert the two-point conversion, leaving the Rivals with a 7-6 lead.

At half time East Jefferson led 7-6 with a solid defensive performance, and some success on offense.

East Jefferson extended their lead in the third quarter, with an 11-yard run to the end zone from junior running back Trevor Wilson. The PAT was no good, leaving the Rivals up 13-6.

Granite Falls senior quarterback Riley Hoople broke through for a long touchdown run with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. After converting a two-point conversion, Granite Falls took the the lead for the first time with the score at 14-13.

The Rivals stormed back to retake the lead with less than three minutes left, after sophomore fullback Josiah Pennington ran 13 yards for a touchdown.

East Jefferson failed on the two-point conversion, leaving the score at 19-14 Rivals.

Granite Falls drove down to score in less than two minutes, as running back Giovani Gonzalez scored again to silence the home crowd.

After a failed two-point conversion, Granite Falls led 20-19 with 59 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

East Jefferson prepared to create some last-minute heroics, but the offense turned the ball over, putting the nail in the coffin for the Rivals.

Although the Rivals lost, East Jefferson Head Coach Tony Haddenham was proud of his team’s performance.

The players were fantastic, he said, and the combined team was gelling well.

“It’s heartbreak[ing], we should’ve had it,” Haddenham said. “The kids are severely disappointed.”

A loss in such a close fashion is always tough, but Haddenham was confident and optimistic for his team as they look to next week.

“You cannot drop your heads. Period,” Haddenham said to his players in a post-game talk. 

East Jefferson looks to earn their first win of the season as they take on the Port Angeles Roughriders in Port Angeles on Friday,
Sept. 10.