MODESTO – The Amador Valley Dons of Pleasanton walked into Chuck Hughes Stadium with East Bay Athletic League confidence embodied by their legitimate Division I quarterback prospect Tristan Tia.
Tia looked the part, but the guy on the other sideline – Downey’s Carson Lamb – matched him snap for snap, step for step, and throw for throw. When it ended Friday night, the Knights stayed unbeaten 47-36 and celebrated a classy non-league win.
“Obviously, Tristan is an amazing quarterback. It was fun going back and forth with him,” Lamb said. “You always want to one-up him.”
Let’s go to the scorebook: Tia passed for 234 yards, four touchdowns and a conversion, and rushed for 76 yards and a TD plus two conversions. Which means he accounted, one way or the other way, for all of Amador Valley’s points.
Lamb’s response: An uncanny 28 of 33 completions for 448 yards and three touchdowns. Throwing with accuracy and precision, he orchestrated an offense which buzzsawed through the Dons for 620 yards.
“He (Lamb) played well tonight. I think he made only one bad throw,” Downey coach Jeremy Plaa said. “He was pretty locked in with his decisions.”
Tia, a rangy 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, already brandishes scholarship offers from Boston College, UNLV, San Jose State and others. The ball spins off his hand easily, and his elusiveness kept Amador Valley (1-2) within striking distance until the fourth quarter.
Lamb, not as impressive physically, has built his own reputation as a player hard to beat. The two QBs met once during a passing camp and were aware of each other’s skills. Their mutual respect was noteworthy.
“He (Lamb) makes good reads,” Tia said. “He’s definitely one of the better quarterbacks we’ll see this season.”
“He (Tia) keeps the ball alive. He makes guys miss,” Lamb said. “He scrambles and throws downfield.”
Neither threw an interception to accent an offense-heavy night. Amador Valley never led but lurked early in the second half 27-22 after Tia’s 42-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Harrington.
Downey (4-0) responded with a long 80-yard march capped by Julius Padron’s third touchdown. The junior gathered in a swing pass from Lamb, shook a tackle and romped home 15 yards standing up.
Three plays later, defensive tackle Izzy Lopez forced a fumble that was recovered by Daley Holmes near midfield. Nine plays later, Noah Sacuskie pounded into the end zone to give Downey breathing room.
There are nights when the Downey offense hums full-throttle. This was one of them. The Knights floored the accelerator against Amador Valley via scoring drives of 73, 80, 89 , 75, 80 and 47 yards.
And for an ideal nightcap, Lamb lateraled to RayMelo Thurman, who led Ethan Woodmansee perfectly with a 50-yard pass to the end zone. Thurman also excelled at the other end of passes with eight catches for 83 yards. Woodmansee again was lethal with five receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
Lamb consistently threw beneath Amador Valley’s retreating coverage and also made the Dons defend horizontally with passes to his running backs. Lamb’s nonstop efficiency and Tia’ next-level athleticism made the admission price worth it.
“We know our guy is special. I think he’s the best quarterback in California,” said AV’s Danny Jones, who coached the Dons to an EBAL Valley Division title last year. “But the kid we played tonight (Lamb) was fantastic as well.”
Downey 47, Amador Valley 36
Amador Valley 8-8-6-14—36
Downey 14-13-13-7—47
1st Quarter
D—Joe Ramirez 15 pass from Carson Lamb (Jacob Wallace kick)
D—Julius Padron 15 run (Wallace kick)
AV—Tristan Tia 5 run (Tia run)
2nd Quarter
D—Ethan Woodmansee 39 pass from Lamb (pass failed)
AV—McKay Kenitzer 6 pass from Tia (Ben Stout pass from Tia)
D—Padron 10 run (Wallace kick)
3rd Quarter
AV—Anthony Harrington 42 pass from Tia (pass failed)
D—Padron 15 pass from Lamb (pass failed)
D—Noah Sacuskie 1 run (Wallace kick)
4th Quarter
AV—Kade Robertson 8 pass from Tia (pass failed)
D—Woodmansee 50 pass from RayMelo Thurman (Wallace kick)
AV—Robertson 9 pass from Tia (Tia run)
Records—Amador Valley 1-2, Downey 4-0
JV—Downey 26-25
