One of the most impressive catches by a Napa High football player this season became a footnote when 325-pound Laguna Creek defensive lineman Erik Thomas fell on a fumble on the next play.

Charles Boyett had made a twisting catch of Clinton Gorsuch’s bomb and kept his footing for more yardage to the Cardinals’ 11-yard line on the fourth play of the game.

But after Thomas’ recovery at the 9, Keenan Williams’ 91-yard touchdown run showed the visitors had not only too much size but speed, too, as they forced seven turnovers and ended the Indians’ extraordinary run with a 33-13 rout in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I quarterfinal at Memorial Stadium.

“It was one of those nights,” Napa head coach Troy Mott said. “We thought they would be good up front on defense and they were. Their line caused some havoc for us. You can’t turn it over like that in the playoffs and expect to win.”

Napa (10-2 overall) answered Williams’ jaunt with an eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive. Ben Ballantine’s 25-yard catch into Laguna Creek territory and Logan Hess’ 35-yard scamper to the 3 set up an eventual 1-yard scoring plunge by Boyett (16 carries, 40 yards) with 6:52 left in the opening quarter. Jonathan Douma — pulled up from the junior varsity while varsity kickers Max Alvarez and Eddie Fernandez attended a soccer combine — was just wide left on the PAT, leaving Napa behind 7-6.

Diondre Batson continued the Cardinals’ speed show with an 88-yard return of the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, and Zach Kouba’s second PAT made it 14-6.

Each team punted on its next two drives, before Laguna Creek’s Matt Hambrick recovered a fumbled Napa shotgun snap at the Indians’ 37.

Five plays later, Nick Laswell scored untouched on a 3-yard reverse with 7:24 left in the half to make it 21-6.

Napa appeared it would come back with a long drive, but stalled on the 11th play as Hess came up six inches short at the Cardinals’ 34. A Laguna Creek (9-3 overall) interception as time ran out in the half was meaningless, but Napa’s next turnover wasn’t.

After the Indians forced a punt to open the third quarter, Gorsuch tried to recover a fumbled snap and Christian Zabel fell on it for the visitors at the Napa 6. Gorsuch went to the sideline with a sprained ankle on the play and did not return. On the play before that, Hess (20 carries, 54 yards) left the field for good with a separated shoulder.

Two plays later, Williams scored on an 8-yard run and Tyler Hansell blocked the PAT to keep it at 27-6.

Without the arm of Gorsuch (3-of-9, 87 yards) and Hess’s legs, the Indians had little hope of a comeback against such a quick team.

“We really feel we have a great defensive line and they moved the line of scrimmage and caused turnovers,” Laguna Creek head coach Mark Nill said. “Everybody said this game would be (Napa’s) offense against (our) defense, but we feel we have a pretty good offense, too.”

Cody Jensen, another JV pullup, scored with 4:42 left and Douma added the PAT for Napa’s final points of the season.

“A lot of people didn’t give us a shot this year,” Napa linebacker Michael Ruffino said.

“We knew we could beat whoever was put in front of us. This is such a great group of guys. But tonight the turnovers just killed us and we let a couple of their backs get away.”