Casa Grande beat both the Elements and American Canyon on Friday night, forcing multiple turnovers in a 26-14 road win.

The Gauchos are now in the driver’s seat of the Redwood Empire Conference Valley division title race and could clinch the league title outright next week.

takeaway

While it was raining from kickoff to finish line, Casa (7-2, 5-0 REC-Valley) scored the first goal in the second part of the game. Quarterback Danny Mercado, who injured his arm while throwing against Tamalpais about a week ago, looks as fresh as he did when he picked up the ball and ran for a 44-yard score.

Casa doubled the lead early in the second quarter, and Mercado found lights-out-playing Ronan Curley on the field for a touchdown on the Gauchos’ comeback.

It took a while for American Canyon (8-1, 4-1) to get going on the offensive, as the Wolves trailed by three on their first two drives. But with the rain picking up, they finally found paydirt midway through the second quarter, with Mason Harris taking advantage to score from 14 yards out.

Wolves’ defense held its own, but AmCan’s offensive turnovers were crucial to the outcome of the game.

Wolves made a turnover and fumbled the ball a minute after leaving the field, and Casa converted it into a shot to take a 10-point lead at halftime.

Wolves failed again at half-time and Casa recovered again. Casa shot again. AmCan increased the difference to 6 with the goal scored by Andre Lopez.

AmCan’s defense stepped up again late in the third quarter, forcing a three-and-out, but an incredible punt by Casa’s Camden Bushey put the Wolves at their own 1-yard line. Harris then fumbled in the rain and Casa recovered him in the end zone. Three more turnovers by AmCan sealed it.

key games

There were many players near the Casa defense in the rain. Bushey and Wyatt Duff went down with interceptions in the fourth quarter, while the Gauchos’ aggressive defense forced four fumbles. Although Casa have lost the most points in their last five games, the Gauchos’ defensive unit continues to emerge when it matters most.

Quotable

“Honestly, rain is the greatest equalizer. We thought we could throw the ball on dry ground, but due to the rain, neither team was very successful in throwing the ball. They made some shots and really put the ball in our hands. But defense has been our backbone and that’s who we are; this is our identity. We’re good offensively, but we’ve improved our defense since we’ve been here.” — Casa Grande head coach John Antonio

“I think we’ve brought a practiced team culture to our defense that is super physical, hard to play against, and something I don’t think teams are ready for yet.” – Buhey.

“If you turn the ball over six times you lose football matches. It’s a tough lesson, a lesson no one wants, but guess what, this is football… I can say that our defense played with the lights off in the second half and did not lose any points; The only points we gave up were on offense. But we’ve got to get better.” — American Canyon head coach Trevor Hudson

next

Casa will travel to the west side of Petaluma next Saturday for the annual Egg Bowl, where they will face the Trojans (3-5, 2-2). American Canyon will stay at home on Friday and host Redwood (5-4, 3-2) in the league final.

Reach Staff Writer Kienan O’Doherty at 415-887-8650 or [email protected]. @kodoherty22 on X (Twitter).