Always on the defense

Rony Nelson threw up his hands, inciting the crowd to cheer at the game's most critical moment.

On fourth-and-9 with visiting Solano College on the opposing 24-yard line and less than two minutes to play, the defensive end settled into his stance and prepared for the moment he could explode.

Snap, sack, fumble, Yuba College recovery.

The play represented the third time in less than five minutes the 49ers defense stopped the Falcons inside the opposing 25-yard line — a trio of clutch stands that helped preserve a 21-14 victory on Saturday in the final game of the regular season.

"Three times inside the 25 and we stopped them all three times — can't complain about that," said Yuba coach Ted Hoal, who was walking off the 49ers old field for the last time before a new facility is built for the 2010 season.

Though Hoal called it a "nice way to say

good-bye," he still hopes the team will be practicing on the field come next week. Still up in the air for Yuba (5-5, 3-1) is a possible postseason appearance, which will require a little luck from a certain team losing and the selection committee choosing the 49ers for one of the state's bowls.

"It's kind of a waiting game," Hoal said.

But in order to make sure they would have the opportunity to sit around with crossed fingers, Yuba had to beat Solano, a team that has just one Golden Valley Conference win on the season.

In addition to the defense, which forced five turnovers, Yuba's push to reach .500 came about thanks to a large dose of backup running back Marquise Dixon, a sprinkle of nice plays from quarterback Jon Garcia and a pinch of "Marysville Magic."

Filling in for shifty starter Mark Winters, who was out for disciplinary issues, Dixon ran for 144 yards and a touchdown — a 15-yard run on the second play of the fourth quarter to give Yuba the lead.

Garcia, who had some trouble with a pair of interceptions, still came through at key junctures. He ran for Yuba's first touchdown and passed for the team's second on a play deemed so pretty, offensive lineman Jarrett Johnson felt compelled to nickname it using alliteration.

With 10.5 seconds remaining, Yuba's Oscar Herrera recovered a fumble on the opposing 47-yard line. Fresh-off receiving a talking-to from Hoal for throwing his second pick, Garcia trotted out, dropped back and fired a perfect strike to a sprinting Matt Horsfall, the Marysville high alum hauled it in for a score two seconds before halftime.

Hoal called it "huge." Horsfall said it "was big time," enough to "give (him) chills" as he entered the end zone for the first time as a college player.

Even larger in importance, though, was Yuba's defensive play in the game's waning minutes. After letting Solano drive to the 19-yard line, Yuba forced a turnover on downs after Nelson sacked quarterback Matt Altieri for the first of his heroic plays.

Yuba responded by coughing up the ball to Solano on a botched hand-off, a mistake was negated by 49ers' cornerback Travis Dunn's second interception of the game.

Then, on offense, Yuba lost the ball again, this time on a Dixon fumble — just three plays after the 49ers' defense bailed out the first gaffe.

As they entered the game, the defense wasn't frustrated, Nelson said. They were excited to get one more shot to silence a snappy Solano.

"We were happy because we wanted to shut them up," Nelson said. "They thought they could run on us."

On the Falcons' final possession, Solano managed one yard rushing and two incompletions before Nelson made his gesture to the crowd and notched his state-leading 16th sack of the year.

"I got the job done and I was pumped," he said.