CARMICHAEL, CA (MPG) - Timely turnovers can be costly.

The Rio Americano varsity football team (0-2) learned that lesson Friday night in a 48-27 loss to Marysville (2-0), played at Del Campo High School in Carmichael. The Raiders play their home games at Del Campo.

“We’re a disciplined bunch, we showed up and we got after it from the beginning,” Indians coach Will Claggett told MPG after the win. “We had a point to prove, we wanted to be 2-0 and we came out and we played like it.”

Rio’s first drive of the game was productive, marching down into Marysville territory. However, a costly interception by freshman quarterback Frankie Cervantes ended the Raiders’ first offensive possession.

The Indians capitalized almost immediately, as senior running back Danny Lanini broke away for an 86-yard rush down the left sideline to reach the red zone. Marysville finished off the drive on the ground from four yards out, but missed the PAT, leaving the score 6-0 early. 

Another timely turnover concluded Rio’s second drive. Junior running back Charles Hausman fumbled and had it scooped up by Indians senior linebacker Maddox Marino.

“That’s one thing that this group does a really good job of, we’re very opportunistic,” Claggett said about his team capitalizing on the Raiders’ early turnovers. “When we have the chance to score, we usually do it. If we can keep playing like that, we got a chance to be pretty special this year.”

Marysville scored its second touchdown of the night on a six-yard rush from Lanini. The Raiders then responded with their first score of the night, as Hausman scored the five-yard rushing TD. The junior also successfully converted the extra point attempt with his leg, making the score 13-7 in the second quarter.

That’s where things got rough for Rio, as the Indians scored three unanswered touchdowns to take a 27-point lead early in the second half. The first score came through the air, as senior wide receiver Trishton Henderson made an over-the-shoulder 16-yard catch in the right corner of the end zone.

The next score came via the defense, as senior Kayden Ellyson made an interception and ran it back 34-yards into the end zone. The third and final score came on the ground, as senior running back Joseph Endicott ran it in. The Raiders would not go away quietly though.

Hausman continued to redeem himself from the early fumble, scoring his second rushing TD of the night after dashing 30-yards down the left sideline in front of the Raiders faithful. Hausman’s extra point kick was blocked, leaving the score 34-13 just over two minutes in the third quarter.

The Indians’ first turnover of the game proved to be un-costly. Marysville fumbled deep in their own territory, but Rio was unable to capitalize, turning the ball over on downs. The third period ended with another Indians rushing TD as Endicott scampered in for another score.

“Endicott got rocked early in the game, was out for about a quarter, and came back and just ran all over the field,” Claggett said. “He just showed a lot of toughness and competed his butt off.”

Raiders freshman wideout Robert Hamel scored a 43-yard touchdown with 9:41 remaining to make the score more respectable. Lanini scored Marysville’s final points of the night with a pick six in the fourth, returning it 53 yards for the TD.

Rio’s final score came on another long TD reception from Hamel, this time from 35 yards out. The Raiders also successfully converted the two-point conversion attempt.

Things got chippy down the stretch, as a Rio player blindsided Lanini on one play late in the game once the outcome was decided. However, tempers quickly settled, and the Indians prevailed in dominant fashion, winning 48-27.

Lanini and Endicott were a dynamic duo on the ground, running all over the Raiders. Lanini carried the ball eight times for 156 yards (19.5 average) and one TD. Endicott rushed 17 times for 167 yards (9.8 AVG) and two scores.

“Joseph Endicott got hurt very early and it kind of messed me up, I was like, ‘noooo’ (because) he’s one of my boys,” Lanini said. “Seeing him get hurt, (I thought) I gotta ball out for him. And then he came back, and I was like, ‘Oh we’re both balling out together!’”

Ellyson was perfect under center, completing all three of his pass attempts for 44 yards and a TD. Lanini and Marino each had a strong night defensively, as Marino had a game-high nine tackles and Lanini had eight. Both players also had at least one tackle for loss and a forced turnover.

“I think my performance was pretty good,” Lanini said. “I came out here and balled out. Last week I had a lot of good runs, but they got flagged and stuff, so I was like, ‘Dude, I’m just going to go out here and run the ball as hard as I can and hopefully it’s a good run.’ A lot of my boys got a lot of hit stickers on their helmet and I only had a couple, so I wanted to get some hit stickers, so that was a motivator for me.”

For Rio, Hausman ran the ball 17 times for 67 yards and two scores. Cervantes was 27-of-42 passing for 265 yards, one TD and three interceptions.

“It is interesting. We wanted to see where we were gonna be at after these first two games. So, sitting at 2-0 is a great spot,” Claggett explained. “We have a gauntlet of a schedule these next three to four games. We came out of the first two games relatively unscathed and pretty healthy.

“These next few weeks are going to do a lot to determine what kind of football team we have and what kind of season we have. These next few weeks it’s on, we have some really good competition. We’re pretty sharp right now, we got areas to improve on and these next few weeks are pivotal for us as a team this year.”

Marysville hosts East Nicolaus on Friday for their home opener. Rio will remain at home and play winless Woodland.