Acalanes beats Mitty, dedicates high school football season to late teammate: “This is for Amin”

LAFAYETTE Reminders of Amin Noroozi the bubbly ambitious beloved -year-old Acalanes novice who tragically died due to injuries sustained during a swimming accident in April were everywhere as the Lafayette school played its first football challenge of the season on Friday night A blue heart with AMIN emblazoned on the -yard-line His No helmet carried out to midfield for the pregame coin toss by company captain River Lockwood A tearful speech given over the loudspeaker after the Dons defense took to the field for its first series Noroozi s jersey framed and pristine displayed by the home organization s bench But it was not just his name and number that were honored by Acalanes The Dons with heavy but determined hearts played with the kind of dogged and intense effort Noroozi would have been proud of in a - success over Archbishop Mitty This is for Amin we re doing this for Amin star linebacker Deonte Littlejohn announced adding He inevitably had a smile on his face and when there wasn t that was because there was somebody lined up on the other side of the ball Acalanes novice athletes greet Payman Noroozi the father of their former teammate Amin who died at the age of after defeating Archbishop Mitty at Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes defeated Mitty - for the season opener Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Acalanes offense overcame three interceptions and a safety buoyed by a defense that featured senior safety and surprise star Grant Ricker Playing in his first tournament at defensive back against Mitty the -foot- ballhawk grabbed three interceptions and helped hold the San Jose private school to just four completions on attempts and a paltry yards I was confident because I just rallied behind my teammates Ricker stated When I didn t know what to do I could rely on them In Joel Isaac s first encounter as head coach after longtime coach Floyd Burnsed s departure following Acalanes trip to a NorCal title competition the inspired Dons ripped out to a - lead Junior quarterback Tyler Winkles capped his first drive with a five-yard bullet to Cody Michlitsch for a touchdown and then Josh Elerts rumbled in from nine-yards out to close out a three-play drive Acalanes Senior Grant Ricker gains yardage against visiting Archbishop Mitty at Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes defeated Mitty - for the season opener Don Feria for Bay Area News Group But with all of the momentum on Acalanes side the Monarchs proved the Gritty Mitty ethos the unit has become known for under coach Danny Sullivan Senior running back Lazaro Faraj-Washington powered for tough yardage behind crushing blocks by linemen such as Chase Graff Andres Nava and others Graff made a -yard field goal and then got a safety after a long snap flew over Winkles head on a punt to make it - Once Mitty quarterback Joseph Engin faked everyone out on play-action and hit Kai Sniffen on a -yard dart up the seam it was suddenly - after one quarter For a brief moment Mitty looked like the squad that started last season - But that would be it for the Mitty scoring even as Sniffen Grant Siripoke and Ethan Chase each gave the offense short fields with interceptions but Sullivan was still encouraged by the fight his group indicated We had our moments and we had our chances revealed Sullivan whose club is coming off a - season in the tough West Catholic Athletic League In the past specific Mitty teams may have mentioned it was - and that we re going to quit We didn t We fought and just ran out of steam Archbishop Mitty running back Lazaro Faraj-Washington breaks the tackle against hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes defeated Mitty - for the season opener Don Feria for Bay Area News Group The Dons took a - lead into halftime after Winkles concluded a -play -yard drive with a perfect fade pass to Ricker for a four-yard points The Dons then opened the third quarter with a drive that ended in a -yard Winkles to Finley Rivera touchdown connection down the middle for a - advantage and Mitty was unable to close the gap before Elerts ran in for his second touchdown early in the fourth quarter Winkles threw for yards and three touchdowns and Rivera caught six passes for yards while Elerts ran for yards Faraj-Washington whose Monarchs will face Wilcox next toted the ball times for yards for a Mitty offense that discovered little room to operate against an Acalanes defense that knew how to play gaps It s not about doing anything spectacular isaac mentioned before turning his attention to next week s competition against Menlo-Atherton If you do your job good things happen Fundamentals doing your job We don t need anything other than that Long after the final whistle blew and Acalanes improved to - the Noroozi family donning blue shirts with Amin s name spelled out embraced one another by his framed jersey Ofelia Noroozi remembered her son as an outgoing kid who loved sports and was extremely funny After convincing his parents to allow him to play tackle football Amin became part of a band that even after his passing is still supporting the family as it dedicates the season to his memory This region and this group of boys and this group of people are extraordinary Ofelia Noroozi described this news organization We have felt nothing but love since day one and to see it materialize like this there really are no words Just gratitude and love Former scholar athlete Amin Noroozi remembered on a t-shirt during the home opener is against Archbishop Mitty at hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes lead Mitty - at halftime Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Acalanes Head Coach Joel Isaac watches his band against Archbishop Mitty hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes defeated Mitty - for the season opener Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Acalanes and Archbishop Mitty captains start the tournament at hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes lead Mitty - at halftime Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Junior quarterback Tyler Winkles looks downfield against Archbishop Mitty at hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes lead Mitty - at halftime Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Senior Luca Potts celebrates a first half touchdown against Archbishop Mitty hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes lead Mitty - at halftime Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Seniors River Lockwood right and Cody Michlitsch left celebrate a touchdown against Archbishop Mitty at hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes lead Mitty - at halftime Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Junior Finley Rivera drives downfield against Archbishop Mitty at hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes lead Mitty - at halftime Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Archbishop Mitty Head Coach Danny Sullivan huddles with his crew during a time out at hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes defeated Mitty - for the season opener Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Acalanes Senior Grant Ricker drives downfield after a pick against Archbishop Mitty at Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes defeated Mitty - for the season opener Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Acalanes Junior Daniel Dunne right celebrates with teammate Bryce Birdsong left during the final seconds against Archbishop Mitty at Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes defeated Mitty - for the season opener Don Feria for Bay Area News Group Senior Quarterback Joseph Engin right from Archbishop Mitty hands off to junior Nick Evangelista left against hosting Acalanes High School in Lafayette CA on Friday Aug Acalanes defeated Mitty - for the season opener Don Feria for Bay Area News Group