Danbury struggles offensively in loss to SJCC

FREMONT — Sometimes it is just not your night. Danbury struggled offensively Saturday and it doomed the Lakers. Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic defeated Danbury 20-8 in Northern 8 Conference play. "St. Joe played their butts off tonight," Danbury coach Brett Sykes said. "They did a good job playing. They were able to cause us turnovers." Danbury (7-2, 4-2 N8) faced the Crimson Streaks (7-2, 5-1) on Aug. 23 and the Lakers won 46-13. "To go from giving up 46 points in the first game to them to only giving up eight points this week says something about our kids," SJCC coach Josh Wehring said. The only touchdown Danbury got came in the third quarter. After SJCC punted, it was all up to Drake Turinsky to make it happen. Turnisky carried the ball five times for 67 yards. Part of that 67 yards included the 39-yard touchdown run that came with 6:04 left on the clock. Tommy Dean then ran in the two-point conversion. "We know that if we block things, we can get the ball," Sykes said. "They did a fantastic job stacking up and stopping the runs. We couldn't gain momentum because of the turnovers." That gave Danbury an 8-6 lead, but it didn't stay that way very long. On the ensuing kickoff, Landon Thiessen caught the return, made his way to the right side and ran it in for a touchdown. The Crimson Streaks didn't get the two-point conversion, but led 12-8. Danbury got the ball back, but on a fourth-and-four at the 24-yard line, Turinsky was sacked by Liam Thiessen. That gave SJCC the ball back up 12-8 after three quarters. "We knew that we had a game plan and we executed it," Wehring said. "We caused turnovers and our defense played lights out. We got big runs and chunk plays. We kept our composure which is huge. The offense did what they had to do to put points on the board." The teams exchanged turnovers on downs before Zach Ohms flexed his throwing arm. He hit Liam Thiessen for a 51-yard touchdown throw. Even with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed against SJCC, the Crimson Streaks still converted the two-point conversion. This time, Ohms connected with Landen Thiessen for a 20-8 lead that stood. SJCC scored its first touchdown of the game with its first possession. Ethan Grahl scored from a yard out. The extra point was no good, but the Crimson Streaks led 6-0 early. Danbury turned the ball over on downs on its first possession, but the Lakers' defense stood tough. Zyler Manning intercepted a fake punt for Danbury. The Lakers couldn't cash in as Liam Thiessen intercepted Dean. Defenses continued to prevail on the next SJCC drive as Grey Maltese intercepted a pass and returned it to the end zone. A holding penalty brought the score back. Later in the drive, Danbury fumbled the ball away. The Lakers have a lot to play for next week when they host Chalker (7-1, 5-1) on Saturday. "We need to win next week," Sykes said. "I think we can get third or fourth. We will be the only one with two losses. We still control our destiny. We just have to keep winning. We have to bounce back from this and especially with Senior Night next week. "We will be ready for Chalker." Danbury 0 0 8 0 — 8SJCC 6 0 6 8 — 20 SJCC — Ethan Grahl 1 run (kick failed)D — Drake Turinsky 39 run (Tommy Dean run)SJCC — Landen Thiessen kickoff return (run failed)SJCC — Liam Thiessen 51 pass from Zach Ohms (La. Thiessen pass from Ohms)