3 days Ago By By Jeff Larson / [email protected]
As the No. 2 quarterback on any football roster your playing time is not guaranteed, and if called upon it is likely going to be a last-minute opportunity where the said athlete is asked to grab a helmet and warm the arm up. For Yuba City High senior QB2 Ulysses Vaca, his No.
4 was called upon late in the second quarter after starter Jordan Martinez appeared to go down with an apparent leg injury as he was seen limping off the field and on the sideline. Vaca did not hesitate, he came in to engineer a pair of second-half scoring drives and a 2-point conversion toss to overcome a one-point deficit at halftime and takedown Chico, 21-16 Friday night at Honker Stadium on the campus of Yuba City High School. Vaca finished 7-of-8 passing for 136 yards and a touchdown for a MaxPreps QBR of 166.
7. “My coaches are always telling me in practice that one of these days I am going to go in and get a win for them ..
It finally happened,” he said. “My head coach prepared me right.” Yuba City moves to 3-1 on the season following just its second win over Chico since 2017, and will open Foothill Valley League action Friday at Roseville.
Lessard said his team was banged up last week, but found a way to persevere – a positive sign for the Honkers moving forward. “I’m so proud of Vaca, that dude is a football player,” Lessard said. “He didn’t get any of the reps this week and he was able to come in, orchestrate our offense and made some big plays.
” When Martinez went down in the second with Chico (1-2) leading 7-6, Lessard said the game strategy had to pivot slightly with the QB’s different skill-sets, but he took Vaca under his wing and the 5-foot-9, 170-pounder did the rest. Vaca opened the third quarter with the first of his two scoring drives that was capped by a 56-yard strike to senior leading receiver JD Henry to put YC up 14-7. Henry caught three passes for 109 yards and a touchdown.
“I saw one-on- one coverage and I knew (Henry) was going to be open and get that ...
It was a go ball, just throw it up and he’d catch it,” Vaca said. “He is a really big part of the program, runs his routes nice and on defense he holds his own.” Chico came right back with its aerial threats on the outside to bring the game back to one at 14-13 in the third.
Vaca returned to orchestrate another drive, aided by another long catch from Henry, to help YC get into scoring position for running back Peter Ithurburn to finish it off from short-yardage and stretch the lead to 21-13. Chico managed a 24-yard field goal to close-out the third quarter. In the fourth, YC helped extinguish Chico for good when it chewed up over half the period with a drive that flipped the field and got the Honkers in position for a 34-yard field goal.
While the kick ended up getting blocked, there was just 2 minutes, 17 seconds on the clock when Chico got it back down five points. “That was textbook Yuba City football, a tough brand running behind our line,” Lessard said. “Everything starts up front, we take care of our big boys.
” The drive featured Vaca helping to convert first down after first down with the help of a multitude of run formations aided by key blocks up-front. The O-line is helped this year by a freshman at the tackle spot and Ully Huizar came on during that fourth-quarter drive to push YC forward. “(Ully) is ready to play with the big boys,” Lessard said.
“I have been around the game for a minute and I can count on one hand guys that have the physical skill-set and mental maturity to play on varsity – and he’s one of those kids. Future looks bright.” Sept.
13 scoreboard Yuba City 21, Chico 16 Bradshaw Christian 28, Sutter 21 East Nicolaus 50, Marysville 37 Oakmont 52, River Valley 49 Del Campo 31, Pierce 15 Colusa 18, Williams 0 Winters 27, Gridley 6 Paradise 21, Live Oak 14 Wheatland 31, Woodland 6.
