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Galt Colts open up NYFL season with new home
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Photo by Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Joseph Olivas runs the ball for the Galt Colts Starts football team in the NYFL season opener Saturday.
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By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports
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The Galt Colts opened up the National Youth Football League season with four games at its new home, Galt High School.
The football field marked a welcome change for Colts teams, as they will hold all of their home games in Galt this season, rather than at Cosumnes River College in Elk Grove, where they played last season.
Colts president Clint Welch expressed thanks that the Galt Joint Union High School Board, Boyce Jeffries and the Galt Parks and Recreation allowed the Colts the opportunity to play in their hometown.
“It means everything to the kids to be playing in Galt,” Welch said Saturday.
Starts
The Weston Ranch had a 19-0 lead in the first half of the Starts game, and that lead held until the end.
The Colts made several good plays, including getting within Weston Ranch’s 10-yard line in the second quarter, but time ran out before the Colts could continue their scoring drive.
Isaac Gomez had a fumble recovery in the third quarter and Joseph Olivas forced a fumble in the opening minutes of the quarter.
Olivas also had an interception for the Colts later in the second half.
“The big thing with these guys is that we run them hard in practice, but there’s only so much that they can run. As a whole, we did good. We spent all week pumping them up for their first game. They played hard,” Galt head coach Clem Adair said.
Rookies
The Rookies were held scoreless against the Eagles until the fourth quarter, resulting in a 28-6 score.
Weston Ranch scored once in the first quarter to take a 9-0 lead, and increased that lead in the second quarter on a touchdown that made it 16-0.
Weston Ranch then scored again to take a 22-0 lead at halftime.
The Eagles scored in the fourth quarter to take a 28-0 lead before the Colts completed a successful scoring drive to put themselves on the board.
Starting at the 25-yard line after the mercy rule went into effect, Ibn Frazier carried the ball to the 24-yard line.
Frazier then advanced the ball to the 14-yard line.
Zach Justice then threw the ball to Austin Ilonummi, which left the ball on the four-yard line for the Colts.
Justice then scored on a handoff to finish the scoring at 28-6.
“It’s only the first game. We have a lot of first year players that figured out what the game’s all about. They never played in a real game. There’s a lot of work to do, but it’s a long season, and as long as they have fun, that’s what matters,” said Welch, the head coach of the Rookies.
JV
A close, scoreless game between the JV Weston Ranch Eagles and the Galt Colts ended in a win eked out by the Eagles in the fourth quarter.
Weston Ranch advanced the ball to the two-yard line before making the play that put the ball just inside the end zone for a 6-0 lead.
The game had been an even match between both Weston Ranch and Galt after the Colts stopped the Eagles on several scoring drives and Galt fell short of a first down on several attempts.
“I think we did a very good job. We have a lot of rookies, and it’s their first time seeing another team in competition. We had a couple of interceptions, other than that, we didn’t have too much trouble moving the ball. We have 30 kids this year,” said Galt head coach Gregg Webb.
Varsity
Weston Ranch scored three times in the first quarter in the varsity game against the Colts, and ended up winning 39-0 Saturday.
Weston Ranch led 19-0 at the end of the first quarter, and scored twice more in the second quarter to lead 33-0 at halftime.
The Colts, which include new players, had trouble converting first downs in their first game, although they made their best effort when they came within the 10-yard line in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
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