Grizzlies suffer first loss in one-point heartbreaker at Amador

For the first time this season, Mariposa County High School walked off the football field without a win.

The Grizzlies’ unbeaten start ended last Friday night in a 29-28 non-league loss to the Amador Buffaloes, a one-point game that carried the tension of a postseason matchup and the sting of a missed opportunity for a Mariposa team that had opened the year without a blemish.

Mariposa stayed within reach throughout the contest, answering enough of Amador’s scoring to keep the outcome uncertain deep into the closing minutes. But in a game where a single point separated the teams, the Buffaloes made their narrow edge stand up and handed the Grizzlies their first defeat of the season.

The defeat did little to erase what Mariposa has built through the early part of the schedule, but it did provide a reminder of how thin the margin can be in tight games. The Grizzlies produced enough offense to stay in the fight, finishing with 28 points, yet Amador’s 29 proved to be just enough.

Mariposa will now turn its attention to the next test on the schedule, looking to bounce back from the one-point loss and prove that Friday’s setback was only a pause in an otherwise promising start.