GAZETTE PHOTO BY JILL BALLINGER SENIOR CODY CHRISTOPHER (NO. 33) CONTINUED HIS DOMINATION ON THE FIELD LAST FRIDAY NIGHT, ROLLING UP ANOTHER 200-PLUS YARD GAME. ABOVE HE BREAKS LOOSE AGAIN OFF OF A JUSTIN KINALELE (NO. 23) BLOCK. There was one distinctly audible difference between the efforts of Mariposa’s Grizzlies and Lindhurst’s Blazers last Friday night. It was the level of “thump.”

Mariposa manhandled the Blazers, 34-0, in its first round battle of the Sac- Joaquin Section Division V playoffs. The win vaults Mariposa into a second round clash in Sacramento Friday against top-seeded Capital Christian.

The Grizzlies completely dominated physically, and Lindhurst had no answer for their pounding ground game. Senior Cody Christopher rolled up 238 yards and four touchdowns behind solid line play, a complete reversal of last year’s first round game when the Blazers eliminated Mariposa, 28-6.

GAZETTE PHOTO BY JILL BALLINGER SENIOR AJ HALL (NO. 2) SCORES THE GRIZZLIES’ FINAL TOUCHDOWN OF THE GAME WITH THIS RUN. “Our defense played great. They were really hitting. It was traditional smash-mouth Grizzly football, and it set the tone of the game,” said head coach Bob Kelly. “We knew we had to take the initiative, and our kids stepped up.”

Grizzly junior Justin Kinalele returned Lindhurst’s opening kick-off to the 50-yard line, and Mariposa made its first score look easy.

After junior quarterback Jarrett Leonard connected with wideout Frankie Peña on a 13-yard aerial strike for a first down at the Blazers’ 33, the Grizzlies’ punishing ground game began to unfold.

On first down, Christopher bounced left to the Lindhurst 28. The next play, he went over the right side to the 19 for another first down. The offensive line opened a gaping hole in the middle of the field on the next snap, and Christopher bolted 19 yards to paydirt. A.J. Hall punched through the PAT kick and with 9:08 still left in the first quarter, Mariposa held a 7-0 advantage it would never relinquish.

Mariposa’s defense stood its ground and stopped the Blazers’ at the Grizzly 20 after Leonard was intercepted on a screen pass, which set up Lindhurst’s only first period scoring threat.

On the first play, Christopher broke to the left, delivered a stiff arm and raced 74 yards for a first and goal at the Lindhurst 6-yard stripe. After Hall pounded the ball to the 1-yard line, Christopher punched it over the left side for Mariposa’s second touchdown. The PAT kick was wide, but the Grizzlies held a 13-0 bulge as the quarter ended.

In intermittent light rain, neither team could mount an offensive drive in the second quarter, but the Grizzly defense did stymie a latequarter Lindhurst drive, taking over at its own 19-yard line.

It was more of the Grizzly ground game in the third quarter with Christopher scoring his third touchdown from 3 yards out. He carried it in for the 2-point conversion too, which pushed the Mariposa lead to 21-0.

In the final stanza, Lindhurst was clearly tiring of being “thumped.” The Mariposa’s intensity level didn’t fade.

Christopher would score again on an 18-yard jaunt, followed by a Hall PAT, and Hall polished off Mariposa’s scoring with just over 4 minutes left in the game with a 1- yard plunge. He was accurate on the PAT to bring the final score to 34-0.

“I could mention a lot of different players, but this was a pure team effort. Everybody brought it, and that’s why we won,” Kelly said.