Casa again ends football season with a flourish

Victory over Petaluma gives Gauchos winning VVAL football season.|

One game can make a football season. For Casa Grande High School’s Gauchos, it was more like one point.

Casa’s 37-36 win over Petaluma in the Egg Bowl, in the final regular-season game of the year, made a 4-7 season a success. The win, accomplished on a final-seconds touchdown and dramatic 2-point conversion, not only clinched third-place in the new Vine Valley Athletic League, but also gave the Gauchos another trip to the North Coast Section playoffs.

It was the second season under the guidance of coach Denis Brunk that the Gauchos had charged in the second half to reach the playoffs.

All four Casa Grande wins came once VVAL play started. In league play they won four of six to reach the playoffs, where they were beaten by Division 2 top seed Rancho Cotate.

“We got off to another slow start, but finished very well,” Brunk said. “What was nice was that the players understood it was a 10-game season, and they never gave up.”

The Egg Bowl defined the Casa season much more than its record.

It was Brunk’s second year of the rivalry game and he got a full sense of the excitement that surrounds the event.

“It’s big,” the Casa coach said. “With the packed stands and all the excitement, it is a true cross-town rivalry game. For us it was pivotal. It got us into the playoffs.

“After the game, players from both sides were hugging and congratulating their opponents. It was special.”

For Brunk it was also the end of a good season, despite the Casa record.

“It was special because of the way the seniors came together,” the coach said. “They are a special group of young men. They are going to contribute well to society, even if they don’t go on to play more football.”

Brunk quickly rattled off the names of the contributing seniors - Jadon Bosarge, Nate Busse, Cole Shimmek, Daniel Chavez, Jack Green, Alex Johnson, Myles Oliver, Aaron Krupinsky, Josh Garcia, Jeremy Bonner, Matthew Murphy, Joey Buickerood, Ian McKissick, Carson Kerrigan, Jordan Gramajo.

Brunk said the Gauchos’ poor start wasn’t the result of any major problem.

“It was a lot of little things,” he said. “But they were a resilient group. They never lost hope and they kept their spirits up. About the fifth game they started saying just three letters - ‘FEO!’ It meant ‘For Each Other.’ That’s how they played the game.”

Casa’s game flowed through senior quarterback Bosarge. “He plays with all his heart,” said Brunk. “He loves the game. He did it all for us.”

Bosarge’s numbers, especially considering his offensive line’s early season troubles, are impressive. He completed 132 of 244 passes for 1,452 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also ran for 465 yards and three touchdowns.

He practically willed his team to victory in the season-making Egg Bowl victory over Petaluma, accounting for all the 72 yards on the game’s final one-minute victory drive running and finally passing 33-yards to Kerrigan to set-up the winning 2-point conversion.

It took the Gauchos a while to get their running game established, and in the early going their offense was primarily Bosarge either running or passing to a number of talented receivers.

Junior Dominic McHale led the team in receiving with 42 receptions for 488 yards and seven touchdowns.

But five other receivers - Rashad Nixon (139), back Matt Herrera (115), McKissick (346), back Gramajo (378) and Kerrigan (138) had more than 100 yards receiving. Shimmek received for 98 yards in just four games.

Midway through the season, Casa Grande changed up its offense and began running the football more.

The switch to a more balanced attack came as junior transfer Alex Johnson became eligible after sitting out four games of ineligibility.

Until then, the Casa Grande rushing load had been carried by junior Matt Herrera. With the addition of Johnson, the Gaucho rushing game became a three-man rotation, with senior Gramajo joining Herrera and Johnson.

Herrera finished with 493 yards and five touchdowns. Johnson, who played just seven games, rushed for 419 yards and four touchdowns, while Gramajo rushed for 118 yards and five touchdowns. Toss in Bosarge’s 465 yards and other contributions, and it all totals a respectable 1,553 yards for the season.

Part of Casa Grande’s early offensive problems resulted from an inexperienced offensive line. For several reasons, the anticipated starting line didn’t work out, and the Gauchos were forced to start with a very inexperienced offensive front.

As the season wore on, seniors Chavez and Murphy stepped up to provide leadership by example to their less experienced teammates, and the Casa line jelled into a force that couldn’t be stopped in the Egg Bowl.

Defensively, Casa Grande had some big moments and made some big plays, but sometimes struggled to get off the field and give the high-powered Gaucho offense time to work.

Krupinsky was all over the field for Casa. The senior led the team in tackles and tied McHale for high in passes defended. More importantly, he was the man who made, or assisted on, stops when they were most needed.

Green, who was hobbled by injuries at times, was a force from his linebacking position when he was on the field.

Garcia and Gramajo were also always around the football.

Freshman Antonio Bernardini grabbed coaches’ attention with 25 tackles in just five games.

McIssick, an outstanding lacrosse player who was new to football, was a major addition to Casa Grande not only with his receiving, but also with his leg. He hit on 25 of 27 PAT attempts and often punted his team out of trouble, averaging better than 30 yards a punt.

While Brunk will miss this year’s seniors, he is very optimistic about next year.

“It will be the third year for the players using my system,” he said, “and it usually takes about three years for players to really get used to a new system.

“We return a lot of juniors who learned a lot this year. I expect big things.”

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