Football was literally a game of inches for Carpinteria on Friday night, as the Warriors fell six inches short of a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter in a 28-21 loss at longtime-rival Fillmore.
With just over seven minutes left, the the game was tied at 21-21 and the Warriors had fourth-and-goal in the six-inch line. The Flashes held Carpinteria on the ensuing quarterback sneak and proceeded to march 99-yards down the field, successfully executing multiple third-down conversions along the way.
With about 90 seconds left, Fillmore was in the very same scenario on the six-inch line, and they managed to punch it in on a fourth-down quarterback-keeper into the corner of the end zone.
It was Carpinteria’s third loss of the season decided by seven points or less.
“We’re due, but we just need to keep growing and stay the course,” said coach Ben Hallock. “We have to be the team that makes the critical plays instead of giving them up.”
Fillmore (2-2) went up 14-0 after one quarter but the Warriors roared back and scored all three of their touchdowns in the second quarter to go up 21-14. The Flashes controlled possession for the vast majority of the second half.
The Warriors have been hampered by illness and injury over the past week, and Hallock praised Jeremy Stein, Chris Estrada and David Hernandez for their versatility in moving between inside and outside linebacker.
Quarterback Paul Aguilar scored two touchdowns for the Warriors while Jovan Saenz had the other.
The Warriors (0-5) have a bye next week.
