SALINAS -- Connor Farotte threw two touchdown passes and Steve Norman intercepted three passes Saturday as the Gavilan Rams stopped the Hartnell Panthers 14-0 at Salinas High School.
The victory allowed the Rams (1-3, 3-6) to escape the Coast Conference cellar. Hartnell (0-4, 2-7) has been outscored by Gavilan by a combined 59-0 over two seasons.
Gavilan pushed across touchdowns in both the second and fourth quarters, each time taking advantage of a Panther miscue to set up a short field to cover.
A bad snap over the Hartnell punter in the second quarter caused a 27-yard loss and a Gavilan possession on the Panther 34. Farotte, who prepped at Salinas' Palma High School, completed the drive with an eight-yard scoring pass to Tim Harvey. Michael Blewett produced the point-after kick with 5:29 left in the half.
One of three Norman interceptions set the Rams up at Hartnell's 46 midway through the fourth quarter. Farotte and Harvey teamed for the six-pointer, a 14-yard pass with 6:14 left to play. Blewett completed the scoring with another point-after.
Hartnell was able to produce 14 first downs, yet eight quarterback sacks left the hosts with a net of only 16 yards rushing.
Hartnell tried two quarterbacks, and first-stringer CJ Crausby threw only six times, completing two for 25 yards plus one interception. After Crausby came off because of an injury, backup Dwayne Gatlin was good on 10 of 30 tosses for 132 yards and two picks.
Michael Willrodt, the team's top receiver, also was pulled due to injury in the first half. Abram Smith, with four catches worth 74 yards, was the primary receiver for Hartnell.
The Panthers were hurt by two lost fumbles along with the interceptions, and an apparent touchdown in the second quarter was called back due to the Panther quarterback passing after crossing the line of scrimmage.
Farotte finished the drizzly night with a 9 of 23 showing for 68 yards. The freshman engineered the offense by scrambling for 71 yards on 15 carries. Backup Nick Kalantari managed a 4 of 10 performance for 40 yards.
"Conner played well," Coach John Lango said of his first-teamer. "Our receivers ran better routes. The offense struggled a little and the defense took a while to get going. We had plans at halftime to help us offensively, but we abandoned that when it began to pour rain as the half began."
Harvey paced the Ram receivers with five catches for 38 yards. Both Matt Perkins and Victor Sapp claimed three receptions.
Gavilan concludes the season Saturday at 7 p.m., against the West Valley Vikings at the Garcia-Elder Sports Complex in Gilroy.
Bob Burch Bob Burch is a sports writer for the Morgan Hill Times.
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