Thirteen gets a bad rap as an unlucky number even though it is not always that foreboding. Many buildings do not have a 13th floor, a dinner party should never have 13 guests and couples never want to exchange vows on the 13th. And then there is Friday the 13th, which appears on the calendar once every 212.35 days.
No Vacaville High School football player wears No. 13, but the number was hardly bad for the Bulldogs in a 41-6 victory over Sheldon on Friday night at Tom Zunino Stadium. Cristian Diosdado had 13 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Massimo Menicou led the defense with 13 tackles, including five for losses.
Quarterback Brody Fortunati struggled with his accuracy against the Huskies, completing just five of 16 passes for 100 yards and one touchdown. The senior was 23-of-28 for 321 yards and four touchdowns a week ago in a 43-0 rout of Davis.
Fortunati had the same problem last year in a 14-7 victory over Cardinal Newman. He was 7-of-16 for 59 yards and one touchdown. The Bulldogs will travel to Santa Rosa to face the Cardinals in Week 3. Cardinal Newman opened its season Friday by defeating Casa Grande 27-13.
Folks at the Vacaville game might have heard cheers from across town as Will C. Wood overcame an 11-point deficit in the final nine minutes to pull out a 35-32 victory over Sacramento. The Dragons will have a score to settle when they join the Monticello Empire League in 2024.
Wood trailed 32-21 after Lamar Radcliffe’s 1-yard touchdown run for Sacramento with 9:17 left. Radcliffe had another 1-yard run in the Dragons’ ensuing possession, but he needed 2 on fourth down to sustain the drive and likely put the game away.
Wood took over at Sacramento’s 42-yard line and scored four plays later when Kimani Dokes lofted a 14-yard scoring pass to Lacorey Collins. The two-point conversion attempt failed, so the Wildcats trailed 32-27 with 2:51 to play.
Sacramento tried again to seal the deal on its ensuing possession by calling a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-1 at Wood’s 39-yard line. Laron James-Radcliff was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, however, giving the Wildcats one last shot.
A 6-yard run by Dokes was followed by an incomplete pass and a holding penalty against the Wildcats, leaving Wood with a third-and-14 play at the 35. Luck was on Wood’s side when Dokes’ pass went through Josiah Chavez’s hands into the arms of Jace Harris Hudson for a first down at the 18.
Elijah Laui completed the comeback by catching a short pass from Dokes and dashing into the end zone. Dokes hit Laui again for the two-point conversion.
Dokes finished 18-of-30 for 242 yards and three touchdowns. The sophomore has thrown for at least 200 yards in each of Wood’s two victories. He will try to make it three in a row on Friday when the Wildcats travel to Stockton to face Chavez.