ELK GROVE — It was a combination of things. But in the end, the Pitman High football players and coaches only really talked about the one major reason why their season ended in a blowout loss in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs on Friday night.
It was Monterey Trail High’s speed.
On a cold night at Mark Macres Memorial Stadium in front of hundreds of fans, the Mustangs showcased their blazing speed — with running back Drake Tofi as the team’s speed demon with his 200 yards and five touchdown runs — in a 59-21 blowout win, securing the program’s first playoff victory since the school opened in 2004. Monterey Trail also had another impressive stat: The backfield finished with 340 rushing yards and five scores, all of them belonging to Tofi.
“We’ve never seen speed like that” this season, Pitman coach Brandon Harris said.
And the Mustangs didn’t wait long to display that aspect of their running attack, as Tofi — who came in with 1,200 rushing yards under his belt — had two short touchdown runs in the first quarter. The junior provided two more scores of 14 and 37 yards before halftime, to along with a 31-yard TD pass from Mike Calvan to Jay Flury, who extended his body toward the endzone to avoid a Pitman defender.
It was that kind of night.
The Pride entered the game with a lot of confidence despite being the No. 13 seed and facing a co-champion of the Delta River League. A week earlier, Pitman pulled off perhaps the team’s biggest triumph of the season by defeating Central California Conference reigning winner Merced High in the regular-season finale that not only dethroned the Bears but also allowed the Pride to make a playoff appearance after a one-year hiatus.
Then came the Mustangs, who were a nuisance from the very beginning of Friday night’s game. After the Pride recovered a fumble on a punt return, they lost the ball in scoring territory on the ensuing drive and the Mustangs returned it all the way near the goal line, close enough for Tofi to get his first TD of the night.
“We’re happy with the effort the guys gave,” Harris said. “We got off to a rough start. You can’t make that kind of mistakes early against a good team and expect to fight back. But I don’t think our kids ever quit.”
The Pride (6-5 overall) were able to put up a touchdown in the second, third and fourth quarters — with senior Nathan Romo going 72 yards for Pitman’s top highlight in a game where the Mustangs controlled from the start. And now, Monterey Trail will host Burbank High on Friday night in the second round of the D-I playoffs.