The Vintage High School junior varsity football team definitely took advantage of the Big Game atmosphere Thursday night at Memorial Stadium, as the Crushers defeated cross-town rival Napa High by a 42-14 score in the Little Big Game.

The Crushers had a multi-threat offense working for them under the helm of freshman quarterback Sean Ryan. Ryan was 9-for-13 passing on the night for 229 yards.

"Our freshmen really shined tonight," Crushers head coach Billy Smith said. "Sean Ryan has competed all year and finished up with 21 touchdown passes on the year."

The Crushers got on the board first when Ryan took them into the end zone on a 33-yard option keeper with 7:13 in the first quarter.

The PAT attempt was no good and Vintage settled into a lead the Crushers would not relinquish all evening.

With just over two minutes to go in the first quarter, Vintage had the ball on the Napa 2-yard line and Ryan again pushed through on a quarterback sneak. A two-point conversion boosted the Crushers to a 14-0 cushion.

But the Indians would not be shut out. Just as the second quarter was underway, Napa's Adam Timmons had an 11-yard carry to get the Indians on the board, 6-0. And just as fast as Napa had closed the gap, the Crushers widened it again when running back Justin Seward ran for a 60-yard score. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Crushers ahead, 20-6.

Napa picked up a bit of a running game late in the first half when Jake Croxdale (16 carries for 153 yards) scored on an 8-yard run with 5:25 left in the first half. A Vintage face mask penalty gave the Indians a second attempt for a PAT and Croxdale ran it in, making the score 20-14.

The Crushers mixed up their offensive plan when Ryan found Travis Steen open in the right flat for one of his three touchdown passes on the night. The two-point conversion was good and Vintage led 28-14 at the half.

"(Offensive coordinator) Justin Nunley called an outstanding game. It is fun to play with this offense. They did what they needed to do tonight and got the job done," Smith said.

Vintage would go on to score twice more in the second half when Ryan again used an air attack to find Seward for a touchdown pass and again on a 70-yard touchdown pass to Derek Long.

That was all the Crushers needed to seal a victory.

"We had a great season. This is as close a team as I have ever coached," Napa head coach Wayne Harbison said. "These players were like brothers. It will be tough to say goodbye. Jake Croxdale was the heart of our offense and our offensive line, led by Robbie Steen, Marco Garcia and Xavier Bahania, all played their hearts out. Vintage played well. They came out and hit on all cylinders and we just couldn't keep up."

The Crushers' season ends with a 8-1-1 overall record and a 3-1-1 mark in the MEL, while Napa closes the season at 8-2 overall and 3-2 in league play.