Seniors produce some big plays on 'Senior Night'

Fallbrook High School's football game against El Camino on Oct. 14 was designated as "Senior Night," and although the Warriors were defeated by the Wildcats 31-10, several seniors made some memorable plays.

On the second play of the game, Fallbrook senior linebacker David Barreto snagged the football out of the air after it deflected off a wide receiver and returned the interception to the El Camino 16 yard line, allowing the Warriors to start their first possession in the red zone.

Five plays later, senior quarterback Jack Grantham made sure the Warriors cashed in on the turnover by throwing a nice pass over the middle to senior wide receiver Kobe Stallings for a nine-yard touchdown completion. Senior kicker Joe Bishop added the extra point to give Fallbrook an early 7-0 lead.

Later in the first quarter, senior Shon Hagan showed off his strength by picking up 12 yards with a punishing run against a tough El Camino defense.

Senior linebacker Michael Lindsey squelched an El Camino scoring drive on the first play of the second quarter when he intercepted a Jaden Casey pass in the end zone for a touchback.

During Fallbrook's first possession of the second quarter, Grantham twice connected with sophomore wide receiver Eric McCarter for gains of 17 yards and 11 yards. Grantham also showed toughness when he managed to hang onto to the football despite absorbing a big hit on a blind side sack.

The Fallbrook defense was challenged throughout the game by talented El Camino running back Chris Brown, however, the Warriors did throw the highly-recruited Brown for a 13-yard loss in the second quarter when seniors Hagan, Brock Bergholz and Charlie Bickel combined on a tackle.

On Fallbrook's final possession of the first half, the Warriors marched from their own 28 yard line to the El Camino 11. The drive featured a 16-yard pass completion from Grantham to Bickel, an impressive 16-yard run by Hagan, and a nice run by Lindsey, who broke a few tackles after catching a short pass from Grantham to pick up 11 hard-fought yards.

Bishop was called in to kick a 33-yard field goal and the senior blasted the ball through the uprights to score what would be Fallbrook's final points of the night.

El Camino capitalized on good field possession to score a pair of touchdowns in the second half against a solid Fallbrook defense, which, as usual, fought to the finish.

Evidence of the Warriors' no-quit attitude was on display late in the game when El Camino had first and goal at the Fallbrook 2 yard line. The Fallbrook defense snuffed out three straight running plays – Bickel made a fine play that pushed the Wildcats back three yards – and forced El Camino to settle for a field goal attempt, which sailed wide left.

The "Senior Night" game completed the home schedule for Fallbrook, which will play its final two games on the road. The Warriors travel to Valley Center on Oct. 21 and – after a bye on Oct. 28 – visit Rancho Buena Vista on Nov. 4. Both games start at 7 p.m.