Islanders Handle Red Hot Rattlers
Rob Goodwin
June. 21, 2008

The undefeated CVFL champion Pacifica Islanders ended the red hot GCFL champion North Bay Rattlers’ season Saturday night at Sequoia High School in Redwood City.

           The Islanders set a statement on the opening drive, letting the Rattlers know they meant business. It took just three plays, including a 48 yard pass from CVFL league MVP Jason Piccolotti to WR Dre Kelley, with RB Jarmar Julien sealing the drive with a nine yard touchdown run. The Rattlers would get good field position on the following kick off, only to have the first play intercepted by Islanders CB Omari Green. On the Islanders’ first play of the drive, Piccolotti connected with WR Ngumezi Obioma for a 33 yard touchdown pass, giving the Islanders a 14-0 lead within the first two minutes of the game.

            The Rattlers were able to bounce back after a thirty five yard pass from QB Vernon Pope to WR Enrico Grayer. The Rattlers punched it in on a toss play. But the Islanders would respond on a drive of their own; with Piccolotti connecting with WR Donyell Crain for a thirty yard touchdown pass, giving the Islanders a 21-7 lead after the first.

            The Rattlers would score first in the second quarter, when Vernon Pope connected with Enrico Grayer for a twenty yard touchdown pass, narrowing the gap to 21-13.

            Piccolotti, who passed for 302 yards, would connect on his third touchdown pass of the evening with Donyell Crain who had two touchdowns and 152 yards on eight receptions. This would give the Islanders a 27-13 lead going into the half.

            The Rattlers would strike back at the beginning of the second half when Vernon Pope would once again connect with Enrico Grayer for another touchdown pass. The 27-20 score continued on into the fourth quarter.

            The Islanders RB Jarmar Julien, who ended the night with 142 yards on seventeen carries would run and make an amazing dive over the unstoppable Islander’s offensive line to score his second touchdown of the night, which increased the Islander’s lead to 34-20.

           LB Edward Tatola claimed an interception, and Jermaine Hargraves, who played both offense and defense, would run another one in, giving the Islanders a comfortable lead late in the fourth.

            A fumbled punt gave possession to the Rattlers, and they would score again at the end of the game on a screen pass. This made the final score 41 to 28 in favor of the CVFL champion Pacifica Islanders.

            The Islanders will now travel to Salinas to battle in the M.L.F.A. state championship against the N.C.A.F.F. champion Salinas Spartans.

            DL Frisco Leaea took a couple of moments after the game to give us an overview of his thoughts. “The defense played well, especially since we were missing key players. The remaining players stepped up and the rotation of the defensive line kept fresh legs out there. But for the next game, we need to win the battle of field position on special teams. This will give the offense a shorter length of the field to go on and will give the defense more room to work with. We also need to work on putting teams away earlier on in the game.”

            WR Dre Kelley also voiced his opinion about the game: “The offensive line played good, especially since the Islanders were privileged to lose an offensive lineman to the arena league. The offense timing was a bit off, since the clock rules were different in the rest of the games played in the season.”