YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - The Roseville Tigers controlled the momentum in the second half of a 39-14 victory Friday night and got their first win in the Capital Valley Conference over the Yuba City Honkers.

The opening quarter of the game was a defensive battle by both teams, which led to double zeros on the scoreboard after 12 minutes of play.

Yuba City (2-4, 1-1 CVC) scored first when junior quarterback Dhiraj Atwal threw a three-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Brandon Hueth to give the Honkers a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Atwal completed 14-of-26 passes for 135 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Roseville (3-3, 1-1) answered quickly when senior quarterback Brandon Graydon tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass to junior wideout Joel Bradley.

Yuba City jumped offsides on the point after try, which changed the mind of the Tigers to then go for the two-point attempt. Roseville succeeded on the try to take an 8-7 lead with a little over four minutes to go in the first half.

In the closing seconds of the second quarter, the Tigers finished a play with five seconds left and we’re deep in Honkers territory. As they rushed and tried to get one more play off, the referees threw a flag as time expired on the clock and called an offsides penalty against Yuba City. This gave Roseville a free play and they extended their lead to 11-7 going into halftime after a successful 23-yard field goal attempt.

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Yuba City quickly gave the ball back to the Tigers after the second half kickoff. Atwal was intercepted by senior outside linebacker Ethan Okelberry who nearly scored a pick-six, returning the turnover to the Honkers’ one-yard line. 

Roseville scored on Graydon’s one-yard touchdown rush to extend the Tigers’ lead to 18-7 with 10:34 left in the third quarter. 

On the Honkers’ next drive, the momentum of the whole game shifted when they punted the ball back to Roseville. However, there was a questionable fair catch signal made by senior Brady Ranallo that led to a 45-yard punt return touchdown.

The Yuba City crowd and sideline erupted with confusion about Ranallo potentially waving his hand in the air to signal for a fair catch. Honkers head coach Will Burns was out halfway onto the field and pleaded his case, but the referee core conversed and said there was no fair catch signaled, which meant Ranallo’s touchdown would stand. 

The playing field was flooded with penalty flags for the rest of the game, the Tigers took advantage and pulled away with a comfortable lead, ultimately winning 39-14. Roseville outscored Yuba City 28-7 in the second half to spoil the school’s homecoming game.

“I liked our toughness, grit and resilience,” Burns told the Territorial Dispatch after the loss.

He added that his team needed to play cleaner throughout the game and minimize the mistakes that led to penalties.

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Yuba City’s rushing leader on the night was senior running back Nick Afato who had five carries for 33 yards. Afato is a leader on the roster along with fellow senior lineman Noah Dunham, who is committed to Washington State University.

“We have to work on the little stuff,” Afato said to the Dispatch.

Afato encouraged his teammates after negative plays occurred, telling them to move on to the next one.

“We just need to hold our blocks longer until the whistle blows,” Dunham told the Dispatch.

The Honkers are on the road this Friday night at Antelope (3-3, 2-0) with kickoff scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

“We’re a tough team, we need to clean things up and get rolling,” Burns proclaimed.