DANVILLE >> Soquel High turned in another stellar defensive showing against a heralded opponent in nonleague football action Friday — just not when it mattered most.

For the second straight week, the defending CIF Division 4-AA state champion Knights gave up a lengthy drive in the fourth quarter that resulted in the decisive score.

San Ramon Valley tight end Marco Jones hauled in a 7-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Rhett Thompson with 22.2 seconds left, and the 2023 North Coast Section D-I finalist Wolves stunned the Knights 14-7 in front of 2,000 fans.

As expected, the upset-minded Knights were disappointed with the outcome. They intended to not only compete, but win.

“That’s the mindset we have every game, no matter the opponent,” said Gabe Virgallito, a defensive back. “We’re always like, ‘We want to (expletive) beat this team.’ “

Soquel, coming off a narrow loss to 2023 D-2A state finalist Los Gatos in its season opener last week, had a chance to produce the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter when a roughing-the-kicker call on a punt extended its drive. The Wolves’ defense remained stout and seven plays later, near midfield with 2:38 remaining, the Knights were forced to punt again.

The Wolves (2-0), who knocked off St. Ignatius of San Francisco in their opener, marched from their own 15-yard line to the end zone on eight plays.

Jones said he saw the Knights in man coverage, so he signaled Thompson to throw the ball his way.

“They were definitely a scrappy team,” Jones said. “They were pretty aggressive for the most part, but I definitely think that we let them be in the game longer than we should’ve.”

Thompson said the Wolves didn’t take the Knights lightly, which is why he and his teammates enjoyed the thrill of victory so much.

“As soon as I looked down and saw the corner press, I going to give him (Marco) a single high look,” Thompson said. “And I saw man on man against Marco Jones, I just thought, ‘I’m going to go out, throw the ball, and give my guy a chance to make a big play, and he did. That’s what Marco Jones does: he makes big-time plays in big-time situations.”

It was yet another brutal loss for the Knights as they continue to prepare for their second season in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s prestigious Gabilan Division.

“We got new players and we’re trying to put them in position to be successful,” said Knights coach Dwight Lowery. “It just takes time sometimes. And it takes guys to step up and take ownership of things. That’s on both sides of the ball. I thought special teams played better today. That was a big emphasis for us going into this game. We just gotta find a way to put more points on the board and make a play on defense when it needs to be made.”

San Ramon Valley entered the contest ranked No. 3 in the North Coast Section behind league foe De La Salle, an 18-time state champion and six-time national champion, and Pittsburg, and No. 28 in California by maxpreps.com — 13 spots ahead of Los Gatos, a team that edged the Knights 14-7 in the teams’ season opener.

The Knights, ranked No. 75, had their hands full on each side of the ball. They were well aware that Jones (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) was an outstanding senior edge rusher who has more than 30 Division I offers. The Texas A&M commit recorded a sack among his handful of tackles, and he proved his worth on offense by hauling in his lone reception of the game.

The Knights had more than Jones to contend with. They also had to deal with a two-hour bus ride, oppressive heat, which forced a delay to the start of the game, and an opponent with twice as large of an enrollment — in hostile territory, no less.

Lowery isn’t one for moral victories, but he got just that while getting his younger and new players battle-tested.

“It sucks that we’re losing games, but we’re in them,” he said.

SRV running back Matthew Garibaldi rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, and the Wolves finished with 138 yards on the ground on 25 attempts.

Garibaldi scored on a 29-yard run with 3:11 left in the half to give the Wolves a 7-0 lead at the break.

Thompson, who was sacked twice, completed 14 of his 20 pass attempts for 158 yards. Owen Scott led the receiving corps with four catches for 43 yards.

Running back Tyreis Lundy had 15 carries for 62 yards to lead Soquel. Quarterback Sam Whelan completed 11 of 15 for 98 yards.

Running back Vaughn Brady knotted the score at 7-all with his 1-yard plunge with 3:16 left in the third quarter. It capped a eight-play, 82-yard drive.

The Knights fumbled the ball three times in the first half and lost one of them. They didn’t have any takeaways.

Ben Palma had a pair of sacks for the Knights. He stripped Thompson on one of them — on the second to last play in the third quarter. Defensive end Django Daillak pounced on the ball for an apparent turnover, but by the time officials separated a mound of players, they ruled that SRV maintained possession.