By Caleb Knudsen
Taylor Tappin’s Healdsburg Hounds delivered what the coach promised in their first game last Friday night when he said: “Be ready to see some good plays, good football, a lot of plays being made, some good athletes and fun stuff.” That’s what the 100-plus at Rec Park saw on Aug. 29, an exciting game between two evenly matched teams, both finding their comfort zone as the 2025 season begins.
At the end of the night, it was a one-point win for visiting George Washington High of San Francisco, 35-34. Which was a bit of a disappointment for the hometown crowd, of course, to say nothing of the Greyhounds themselves.
With last year’s running back Frank Rea Jr. taking over at the quarterback slot, the team had no trouble adjusting to his leadership. Other returning players including Hayden Mariani, Max Morris and Dillon Jocius made their mark on the scoreboard as well.
On their first possession the Hounds marched down the field, and in nine plays hit pay dirt on a throw to Morris who swiveled into the endzone. The Eagles’ first drive was stopped by the Greyhound defense, and only a few minutes later Rea himself took it into the endzone. Once again the kick by Adan Velasquez Silva was good, and Healdsburg Boosters grinned at the 14-0 scoreboard.
Soon enough however the Eagles, who like the Greyhounds began the game playing with a bit of early season timidity, got their offense together and began scoring as well. The half ended with a 21-14 Healdsburg lead, and even though the cheerleaders didn’t have a half-time performance, a cheery optimism was building as night fell on Art McCaffrey Field.
Sports observers often talk about “adjustments” that teams make at the half, and it almost seems inevitable that the leading team feels less need to fix anything that’s not broken, while the trailing team is focused on doing better.
Despite the Greyhounds adding on another TD as Rea again scampered 20 yards for the score, and Silva again being good for the extra point, the comfortable 28-14 lead was not to last.
Washington’s Henry Sanchez-Tapia scored from a yard out to make it 28-21, but a few plays later Jocius got his first TD of the season with a one-yard run to keep that comfortable two-score lead.
Unfortunately Silva missed the PAT after kicking four bullseyes, and in retrospect that turned out to be the difference.
The Eagles’ Anthony Hon took the kickoff from Silva and broke through the special team to race 70 yards for a TD—the game’s ninth, five by Healdsburg and four from Washington. That changed the game’s momentum, and in a hurry.
By now the Eagles’ defense seemed wise to Rea’s wily ways, both as quarterback and running threat, and held the Hounds without a score for the first time that night. After taking over the ball, they passed for their own fifth TD and suddenly the score was tied, 34-34, until the Eagles’ kick conversion was good, giving them a single-point lead with just three minutes left in the game.
Which should have provided an opportunity for the Greyhounds to score once more for the win. In fact, after the kickoff by the Eagles, the Hounds drove to about the 10-yard line with about a minute of time left, within field goal distance for Silva or a possible game-winning TD.
However when quarterback Rea rolled out to look for a receiver or an opening, he was hit by Eagles defenders who stripped the ball. Rea suffered the fumble, the Eagles got the recovery and the Greyhounds suffered a loss.
That’s how the game ended, at 9:54pm, after two and a half hours of clean, well-played, well-coached football.
Nonetheless, statistics for the game show that choosing Rea, a junior, as the quarterback to replace last-year’s team MVP Nova Perrill II was a smart move. The junior capably handled the pass attack, completing 17 of 26 for 251 yards and two touchdowns (both to senior Max Morris). He also produced 71 yards on seven runs, though it was sophomore Jared Lagunes Rodriguez who carried the weight of the running game with 12 carries for 37 hard-fought yards.
Defensively, the wide-ranging Rea also accounted for a team-leading six tackles, four of them assists. Working from the secondary, Jocius had three solo tackles as did Alex Francis.
Die-hard fans will say that the loss of seven plays to a three-game suspension, due to a fight on the field in the Sonoma Valley game last year, may have contributed to the Hounds’ loss. While most of the suspended players were either linemen or linebackers, it’s unfair to say that Healdsburg’s current starting lineup is damaged. They played well and the game was fun and exciting to watch, even with a disappointing final score.
This Friday, Sept. 5, the Greyhounds meet the Trojans of Lower Lake High, who won their game last week with a 22-7 over Esparto. Be sure to get there by 7pm, when the action begins on the grass at Art McCaffrey Field, Rec Park.
