Mistakes costly for Petaluma

Petaluma squandered an energetic effort by falling to Sonoma Valley, 13-5, in a mistake-filled contest at Hap Arnold Field on Friday night. The Sonoma County League grid opener for both teams turned out to be a major disappointment for the Trojans, who turned the ball over seven times in spite of controlling field position during much of the game.

Led by the running of Brendan White and Yusef Kawasemi, the Trojans punched holes in the Dragon defense for most of the first half but left the field clinging to a narrow 2-0 lead. The only scoring came on a play in the end zone that might have been ruled a touchdown, but not on this night.

The Trojans closed proceedings at intermission by threatening the red zone, but bobbled away their chances with two consecutive fumbles and a narrowly missed 51-yard field goal attempt by Greg Thomas.

With time running out, Sonoma quarterback Will Lennon was tackled in the end zone by Joey Reed, and the ball was jostled free and recovered by Petaluma. The play was ruled only a two-point safety and so it would go the rest of the night.

A major headache most of the night for the Trojans was Sonoma running back Tristan Mertens. The Dragons tried to isolate him in the open field with a variety of offensive schemes.

Mertens, who galloped 59 yards on a run in the first half, broke away from three tacklers along the sidelines early in the third period and rambled 57 yards to the end zone, and Sonoma had its first lead, 7-2.

In the next series, Petaluma bounced back and took advantage of a 25-yard run by White behind Justin Mahrt to punch the ball back into Dragon territory.

Five plays later, Petaluma stalled, but converted on a 36-yard field goal by Thomas to cut the Dragon advantage to 7-5.

Mistakes began to multiply for the Trojans, who began to wobble with two interceptions and a couple more fumbles to prevent them climbing back into the lead.

Finally Sonoma took advantage of the final Trojan miscue to take over inside the 10-yard line with less than five minutes remaining. An inside handoff to Mertens found nothing but open space, and the Dragons went ahead 12-5.

Harrison Royal came in to direct the final Trojan offensive as Petaluma had one last chance to move 70 yards for a possible tying touchdown. Three first downs later, Petaluma moved dangerously into Dragon territory, but a lofted Royal pass had too much air, and it was picked off along the far sideline to decide the final outcome.

It was the first victory of the season for Sonoma Valley, as the Dragons improved to 1-3. but they picked the right game to open SCL play.

With the exception of a few bursts by the speedy Mertens, the Trojan defense played well enough to win most games. Hunter Williams continued to impress with a fumble recovery and several sold tackles including a 7-yard sack of quarterback Lennon.

Mertens finished with 189 yards on the ground to lead both teams. White topped the Trojans in rushing with 90 yards, while Kawasami ended the contest with 62 yards on 15 carries.

White picked off a pass in the end zone for Petaluma, and teammates Thomas and Michael DeVincenzi intercepted passes in the open field. DeVincenzi sprinted 27 yards with his theft, which forced the ball deep into Sonoma territory and the eventual Trojan safety.

One major indicator of the way things went for the Trojans (3-2) on this night was a White pass that was ruled an interception for Sonoma in the third period. The ball was grabbed simultaneously by both the Petaluma receiver and the Dragon defender, but it was judged to be an interception.

A protest by both receiver and coach Rick Krist was quickly flagged for unsportsmanlike behavior.

The play only compounded the Trojan frustration.

A blocked punt in the fourth quarter led to the go-ahead touchdown and a 19-13 win by the Petaluma junior varsity in the preliminary game.