Two methodical drives -- typical of how Valley Christian has played all season. One chewed up over six minutes of the clock. The other nearly five minutes.
Valley Christian had just three possessions in the first half. Two of them resulted in 14 points -- all the points it would need in defeating Palma 14-10 for the CCS Open Division III title.
You can point to several reasons why the Chieftains fell in the playoffs for the seventh straight time to a team from the West Catholic Athletic League -- four to Valley Christian.
One off-sides penalty kept the Warriors opening drive alive, leading to a touchdown. Another came late in the game, giving Valley Christian a first down to seal the win.
Yet, what the Warriors did that perhaps Palma didn't foresee was throw the ball with effectiveness, completing their first five passes for 102 yards in the first half.
Granted, the Chieftains -- who came into the game with a 10-game winning streak -- made the proper adjustments in the second half without injured defensive linemen Richard Hernandez.
But take away a 50-yard touchdown run by Emilio Martinez and the Chieftains offense was stagnate in the second half, unable to establish one drive.
Don't take anything away from Valley Christian. It's not 12-1 by accident. Palma proved it belonged on the field with them. It's clear, however, that the road to a CCS title runs through the WCAL.
John Devine has been writing about high school sports in Monterey County since, well, practically since he was an athlete at King City in the days just after leather helmets. In PrepNation, John has even more in-depth analysis of the latest results and news he's brought to you in The Herald and in his weekly videos.
Follow Me
The Monterey County Herald reserves the right to edit posts and delete any comments that violate the Terms of Service & Privacy Agreement.
1 comment:
Martinez had 212 yards rushing. He must have averaged 7 yards a carry. Palma stalled and kicked a fg on its first drive and some of the play calling as far as type of pass plays weren't to their strengths. More play action and screens and 3_4 steps and roll outs are a better fit than deep drops. Palma like in the St Francis game had a good shot at winning it. Their defense kept them in it and poorly timed penalties that extended VC drives or killed their drives or put them in bad field position were basically the difference. The teams were closely matched.
Post a Comment