Grizzlies exterminate Chico Panthers at home game
Chandler Monahan leaps in the air to successfully catch a pass prior to sprinting to the end zone to score Lassen’s second touchdown on Sept. 1. Photo by Greg WallaceThe Lassen High School varsity football game hosted their first home game Friday, Sept. 1 against rival school, Chico High.
The Grizzlies treated the Chico Panthers to a lovely game of healthy competition, but they ultimately annihilated the guest team with a final score of 35-28.
With their first steps onto the Arnold Field, the varsity Grizzlies were met with the roar of cheering fans eager to initiate the Grizzly football season with a win.
Obviously very moved by the crowd of Lassen supporters, the Grizzlies wasted no time on the field.
With 9:36 on the clock during the first quarter, Tucker St. Andre forced his way through Chico’s defensive line to reach the Panther end zone. With one Chico player firmly holding onto St. Andre’s legs and another trying to tackle St. Andre’s waist, the Grizzly fell to the ground, ball in hand, to score the first touchdown for the purple and gold.
Anthony Wagner then gave Lassen its seventh point with a good PAT.
After the Grizzly kickoff, it took the defensive line a total of eight seconds of game play to grant Lassen repossession of the ball.
Upon the returned possession, Lassen’s next to score was Chandler Monahan. Monahan caught the pass made by Caleb Clements at the 20-yard line, dodged a Chico defender and sprinted to the Panther end zone with ease.
The Lassen High School cheerleaders stunt a pyramid at during their halftime performance at the varsity game against Chico. Photo by Ashley GroganAnother good PAT made by Wagner brought the Grizzlies up to a 14-point lead.
The Grizzly defense once again retook possession without haste with the turnover recorded at 9:14.
The next touchdown was another by St. Andre, though the act didn’t take place until nearly halfway through the first quarter of the game.
For the third Lassen touchdown, the Grizzlies were met with strong opposition from the Chico defensive line. Despite many attempts to reach the end zone, Lassen was continuously tackled away from their goal. However, after two turnovers, the Grizzlies finally found their opening and refused to ignore it, thus sending St. Andre sprinting.
A third PAT kicked in by Wagner brought the score up to 21-0, favoring Lassen. The score stayed as such until the start of quarter two.
In the second quarter, the Panthers found their drive and finally managed a touchdown with 9:42 on the clock. Followed with a good PAT, Chico was finally introduced to the scoreboard with a point tally of seven.
Tucker St. Andre keeps trucking along despite the efforts of a Chico defender during the first half of the home football game. Photo by Ashley GroganThe sudden change in Chico’s performance hardly affected the Grizzlies, though, as it wasn’t long before the home crowd cheered for another touchdown, courtesy of St. Andre at 5:12. Another PAT gave Lassen their 28th point.
With two and a half minutes remaining of the first half of the game, Chico made their second touchdown and good PAT to bring the score up to 28-14. The score remained until the end of the second quarter.
During the halftime break, fans were treated to a performance from the Lassen High drill team members and another the Lassen High cheerleaders. After the Lady Grizzlies showed off their dance moves and synchronized stunting, the Chico cheerleaders provided a performance to equally pep up their team.
Quarter three saw a touchdown and good PAT from both sides of the field as it was becoming clear that the two teams were starting to lose steam.
St. Andre scored Lassen’s fifth and final touchdown, thus making his fourth touchdown of the game in total. Wagner followed with another good PAT that allowed him to leave the game with a perfect record.
In the final quarter, Chico was the only team to score as they gave a final attempt at the win. While it was an unsuccessful attempt, Chico did manage to bump their score up by another seven points to finalize their score at 28.
The Lassen High School drill team transitions to their next formation during their halftime performance at the varsity football game on Sept. 1. Photo by Ashley GroganDespite Lassen not managing any touchdowns in the final quarter, the Grizzlies still left the game with the win after scoring a total of 35 points.
By the games’ end, the Grizzlies made a total of 63 tackles as a team; 41 solo tackles and 22 assists.
The game brought the Grizzlies up to the 362nd rank for the California high school football teams. Chico left the game with a state rank of 387.
