Game Review

Last Friday night West Valley traveled to “The Jungle” to try to take out the Tigers. They knew going into the matchup that they were the underdogs and they embraced the role. They needed to come out and make a statement in the beginning of the game. West Valley went big in their first three plays attempting a 20yard pass. However, San Jacinto’s ball hawk Kameron Rocha came up with a huge interception. Rocha had a decent return and set up his offense in great field position. The Tigers first play of the game was almost tragic. A hand off between Kajiya Hollawayne and Damonce Williams was bobbled and almost turned over. Damonce quickly picked up the ball and started running to the end zone. Defenders were crashing in on him, but none of them were quite fast enough to catch him. Damonce dove for the end zone and crossed the line before being pushed out. The Tigers had the lead with only 30 seconds off the clock.

Not much changed for the Mustangs in their second opportunity with the ball. At first it looked like they were getting some offense going, by using a “hard count” against the Tigers (a hard count is when a QB calls for the center to snap the ball, but the center doesn’t snap it hoping that the defense will jump offsides) very successfully. Kameron Rocha (who is the captain of the defense) decided to take things into his own hands and laid down a monster hit, causing the Mustangs to fumble the ball. San Jacinto again capitalized on the turn-over by scoring a touchdown, this time though, Kajiya Hollawayne would throw the ball to senior receiver Antonie Sullivan for the touchdown.

San Jacinto dominated the matchup, the final score was 41-0, Kajiya Hollawayne finished with 207 yards, 4 touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 149.3 which is a perfect rating. Our Player of the Game goes to junior receiver Damonce Williams who had two touchdowns on the night, he also made a big catch for a two-point conversion and banked in 88 all-purpose yards.

After an unforgettable performance against Citrus, Hemet traveled up to Beaumont and tried to maintain the same energy. The Bulldogs and the Cougars were in a defensive battle throughout the game, but it was the Cougars who would come out on top in that matchup 14-10. Citrus Hill came out ready to put their last week behind them and welcomed the Titans to their stadium. Citrus got out to a fast start and never let off the gas, dominating the matchup 37-7. At the end of this week San Jacinto is sitting on the Iron Throne of the division while Hemet, Beaumont, Citrus Hill, & Tahquitz are all seeking their opportunity to strike. West Valley is sitting alone at the bottom of the division with a 0-2 record.

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San Jacinto High Was Too Much To Handle For Temecula Valley

This was it, the final game before it really starts to matter. Temecula Valley came into San Jacinto last Thursday to play the Tigers. This was the last game before Senior Receiver Antoine Sullivan transfer suspension is over, which should help San Jacinto’s offense dramatically. Antoine was Tahquitz’s leading receiver last year as a Junior and will add some more firepower to San Jacinto’s offense. Antoine will give Kajiya another reliable receiver and an every-down deep threat to compliment Damonce Williams and Kameron Rocha through the air, while Juan Denny, Kelvin Davis, and Kajiya Hollawayne continue to be threats on the ground.

But they still had to finish this game before they get to see how the offense works with him in there. San Jacinto was coming off a loss against Eastlake, so they had to bounce back and build momentum before League play starts. San Jacinto came out of the gates firing on all cylinders putting up points fast and often. Everyone was getting in on the fun. Kajiya Hollawayne looked dominate with 283 yards three touchdowns and no interceptions. Juan Denny ran hard all night and banked in 103 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and 60 receiving yards. 

The Defense looked great, San Jacinto’s Defensive Coordinator Ryan Cogdill was relieved to get his two big guys back Sheldon Newton & Mahe Hamala on the line. Together they dominated Temecula Valley’s offensive line even though they had players who on paper were bigger than them; they couldn’t match Sheldon’s & Mahe’s aggression and pressure. Keith Hunter came down with an interception in the opening drive. Elijah Torres and Roman Garcia made huge tackles all game long, both of them got huge sacks on Temecula Valley’s Quarterback.

Player of the game goes to Kameron Rocha who made two huge touchdown catches, 80 receiving yards, punished Temecula Valley’s running backs with big hits, and caught a great interception in the third quarter that he returned for 44 yards. San Jacinto finished the game on top 41-3. San Jacinto had a lot to prove in this matchup and took it as an opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the league. The time to prepare is over, now you have to show up and play real football, or you will be sitting at home in November. San Jacinto will be on a bye this week, which couldn’t have happened at a better time so they can rest up and recover. Their next game will be against Beaumont in Beaumont and this should be the first game of the season that they have a completely healthy roster.

For more images of the game Ffllow Author Kyle Rae Headlee on Facebook and The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle on Youtube.

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Odds Were Stacked Against Them

The Eastlake Titans made the trip from Chula Vista last Friday night. They entered Tiger Stadium with a 0-3 record and felt determined to not go home with a 0-4 record. San Jacinto’s defense was playing short-handed. Three key defensive starters sat out this week for various reasons — one in the second two on the defensive line. The backups tried their best to give pressure and shut down Eastlake’s running game, but it just wouldn’t be enough. Eastlake continued to punish San Jacinto inside basically running it up the middle over and over again without much variation. San Jacinto’s coaches consistently told the players what was going to happen, but it didn’t matter. Eastlake wanted to prove the point that they can run the football. Their Passing game was in-effective San Jacinto’s secondary did a great job of shutting that down. 

Junior Defensive Back/Safety Keith Hunter made a few great defensive plays, which made Eastlake re-think passing the football, he got his hands on the ball two plays in a row and barely missed out on the chance to come out with the interceptions. Senior Safety Kameron Rocha was laying down big hits and shedding blockers all night as well. One can’t help but think that this game would have been dramatically different if San Jacinto’s defensive unit would have been completed.

On the Offensive side of the ball, the team struggled to get anything going; it’s hard to tell if it was self-sabotage or Eastlakes energy and passion that was making hard for the Tigers. Kajiya Hollawayne (Tigers Dual-Threat QB) wasn’t seeing any openings when being forced to scramble out of the pocket, and Juan Denny (Tigers Senior RB) was being met at the line of scrimmage with two or three defenders every time he touched the ball. Eventually, Coach Galliano decided to start throwing the ball, and Kajiya Hollawayne started to connect with Junior Wide Receiver Damonce Williams on a consistent basis, but Eastlake figured out that Damonce was Kajiya’s most reliable receiver with other receivers on the roster dropping balls, and stop running mid-route.

San Jacinto ended up falling to Eastlake 31-14, there is no more time left to figure things out, with only one more game until League Play starts the Tigers need to come together and discover their identity. 

Player of the Game went to Eastlake’s Maximus Susi who played on all phases of the game and made a huge impact. After the game, Max made himself available for an interview and said, “We knew they were a tough team, but we needed to come out here and show that we could play with a chip on our shoulder too and that’s what we did.” It seems like the Eastlakes game plan was all about coming out and playing aggressive smash mouth football. It is safe to say that the strategy paid off. 

It was a tough week for half of the league Hemet and West Valley would lose close games this week. Tahquitz and Citrus Hills both won their games and Beaumont dominated their rivalry game against Banning.

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Student Body Section Was “Lit” As The Mustangs Dominated The Rams

It was a long night for Desert Mirage’s defense trying to keep up with West Valley’s skill players. Most of West Valley’s starters didn’t even see the field in the second half and were cheering on their teammates from the sidelines. West Valley scored two touchdowns in the very beginning of the game, one after receiving the ball at kick-off and the other after forcing a turnover (via fumble) and making Desert Mirage pay for the mistake by turning Tyrone Jackson Jr. (#3) loose for a 60 yard run, the game was quickly getting out of hand for the Rams and the Mustangs rushing game looked dominate.

Tyrone Jackson Jr wasn’t the only player who got to see the end zone last Friday night. Alfred Jones scored two times, once through the air and once on the ground. Tyrone Jackson Jr banked in two rushing touchdowns total and over 100 yards. Their performances made it hard to choose one of them for player of the week, so The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle decided that they both would share player of the week honors for this game. However, the Mustangs offense was feeling generous and four other players were able to get into the end zone. 

The student body section was screaming, dancing, and cheering their team on all game long. Many of the students came down and congratulated the team on their blowout victory, many of them looked like they were on the field with the team for the last two hours. That’s how hard they were cheering on their fellow Mustangs. The final score of the game was 55-0. The Mustangs put on a dominant showing in all phases of the game and looked like they might be ready to move up to a more competitive division like they were in the past. 

Coach Perez had this to say to the team after the game, “You guys enjoy this win, it was a big win and this is the first time West Valley has been 2-0 since 2014, however, get it all out of your system tonight because we are back here at 9:00 in the morning for film and Temecula Valley isn’t going to let us run all around the field on them like we did tonight, so we have to start preparing immediately. You understand? Celebrate until 9:00 tomorrow morning, and I want you guys in the film room ready to start preparing for next week.”

Coach Perez want them to enjoy their victory, but wanted them to understand that they need to start looking at next week’s matchup, Temecula Valley has an excellent program and is coming off a victory against Elsinore High. A matchup against them will help West Valley see what they need to tighten up before league games against Beaumont, Hemet, San Jacinto, and Citrus Hills. As of right now, the league play looks like it’s going to be tight. 

In other Mountain Pass League Games; Tahquitz edged out Indo 14-13, Hemet recorded their first win of the year against Vista Del Lago 35-21, San Jacinto fell to Woodrow High School 27-13, Beaumont was impressive in their week two victory over pacific 56-14, and Citrus Hill won their first game of the season 27-19 against Palm Springs. Pictures of the game will be available on my personal Facebook page @AuthorKyleRaeHeadlee

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San Jacinto Needs To Make A Statement Coming Off A Loss

The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle is taking you to San Jacinto High School this week for the Game of the Week. This week San Jacinto High is welcoming Murrieta Mesa into “The Jungle” as the two teams look to show the rest of Southern California that they are serious contenders. San Jacinto started the season off with a huge win against Great Oaks showing dominance in every phase of the game, but their winning streak was quickly brought to an end when they traveled to Long Beach last week to play Woodrow High School. San Jacinto lost this matchup, causing them to drop from the 94th ranked school in California to the 144th ranked school. 

The team (lead by Junior Quarterback Kajiya Hollawayne) will be looking to come out hot and put a lot of points on the board tonight in order to make a statement to the rest of the division, “Just because we took one L doesn’t mean we are out of it.” Ryan Cogdil (Defensive Coordinator of the Tigers) isn’t happy that the team lost, but believes it could be good for them; now they can come together as a team and show everyone that they are a serious threat this year. 

Murrieta Mesa is ranked 302 in California. They are starting non-league play 0-2; their first game was a blowout loss to La Serna and last week they were involved in an offensive dog fight losing to Etiwanda High School in overtime 42-35. On paper San Jacinto should be able to control this game; they have the talent to do so. It all comes down to the players trusting their coaches play calls and sticking to their assignments. Football is as much of a chess match as it is a physical contest and it takes both Players and Coaches to trust each other and be in sync in order for the team to find success. 

San Jacinto needs to use this week to find their identity again and remember that they only went as far as they did last year by play as one team that fired on all cylinders. Coach Galliano and Kajiya Hollawayne will do everything in their power to get that high pace offense working as it should be, this week. Ryan Cogdill needs one of his defensive playmakers to step up and be a leader on the field after losing one of his captains to injury last week. Who on the defensive side of the ball is going to step up and become the leader in his absence?

Other Mountain Pass League Matchups tonight include: Beaumont vs. Perris, Hemet vs. Banning, Tahquitz vs. Lakeside, West Valley vs. Temecula Valley, and Citrus Hill vs. Pacific. You can see the winners and losers of this game in next week’s paper, but why wait? Subscribe to The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle Facebook/Youtube for faster updates on local sports news. Pictures of the game will be available on my personal Facebook page @AuthorKyleRaeHeadlee.

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