Unlikely defensive stop, pounding run game leads Casa Roble to upset over Union Mine

Underdog Casa Roble upset Union Mine 35-33 on the road in El Dorado on Friday night in the Division V quarterfinals.

It’s always hard going on the road in the playoffs. But the No. 7-seeded Rams continued to show their resilience in a back-and-forth game against the No. 2 Diamondbacks. Friday’s win was an old-school, 3 yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust game.

Senior quarterback Jason Lindahl, who head coach Chris Horner calls “Superman,” put the team on his back, running in five touchdowns while accumulating 161 rushing yards. He also completed a two-point conversion, passing it to wide receiver Sam Khochay. He also threw for 139 yards.

Horner had high praise for his quarterback, “He just comes up huge. That dude has ice in his veins and we’re fortunate to have him. He is our leader and everybody feeds off him.

Without breakout receiver Cole Owens for the latter part of the season, the run game has been increasingly important for the Rams. Both their backs and offensive line have stepped up to plate and welcome their new offensive style.

“We knew after the last game what our O-line was capable of. They’re one of the best in the area,” said Lindahl. “Our receivers also showed their ability to stock block this game. And our running back was blowing people up.”

Though he wasn’t able to put up the jaw-dropping numbers he did last week, running back Josh Taylor was still able to play an important role for his team. He accumulated about 100 yards as well as providing key blocks for Lindahl. Taylor, along with every player on this offense, was committed to methodically driving the ball down the field on the ground. With much of the clock chewed up by both teams, the Rams scored on all but one of their possessions in this battle.

Although their defense was not very successful for most of the game, they came up with maybe the most important play of the night. Up only one point midway through the fourth quarter, the Diamondbacks were attempting to convert on a fourth and short in Rams territory. Within a couple seconds of the snap of the ball, senior linebacker Dylan Crabtree, who was playing on the defensive line, sacked Diamonbacks quarterback Calvin Owens and get the ball back in the hands of their offense.

“It was kind of hard to stop them at first,” said Crabtree. “We ran a new defense this week that we only ran once earlier in the season and this was only my second week at defensive end. Learning two positions and two defenses was rough.”

But that didn’t stop him from making the biggest play of the game.

“I was supposed to be the guy to secure the outside tackle, but they made a misread and I was able to come off the edge and make the play.”

Of the 11 games Casa Roble played this season, eight have been decided by only one touchdown. This team has known heartbreak, but they also know the joy of overcoming adversity and playing with heart in a close battle. A team like Casa Roble can be very dangerous against an opponent that has not had to struggle for success.

Next week the Rams will travel to Merced to take on the No. 6-seeded Hilmar Yellowjackets in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinals.

This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 7:21 AM.