Tigers seeking to prey on Mustangs this week

After a crazy, hectic previous week, some teams in the Mountain Pass league will look to keep up the momentum while others will seek to get back into the win column. In our “Game of the Week” we will take you to San Jacinto High School as the West Valley Mustangs come into town and try to take SJ down.

Historically San Jacinto has dominated this matchup.  

San Jacinto is currently ranked 129 in the state. They have dropped quite a bit from the beginning of the season when their ranking was 97: currently they have a 4-2 record and are fresh off a dominant victory against Beaumont.

West Valley started the year with a 2-0 record, but have struggled since. Currently they are on a four-game losing streak coming off a tough loss against Tahquitz where they basically beat themselves.

One of West Valley’s key playmakers, Alfred Jones, went down with a possibly significant injury last week: it is unknown if he will be available for this matchup. The West Valley Mustangs are definitely playing the underdog role this week. Many players are going to have to have the game of their lives and hope that San Jacinto struggles to find chemistry.

West Valley is a good team, but they have half as many players as San Jacinto.  That imbalance has many disadvantages: players get tired more easily as they have no one to sub for them; if injuries occur, it gets harder and harder to keep key players in the game. Many West Valley players have to play on both sides of the ball.  As the season goes on, the challenge to maintain mounts with each game. Last season West Valley dominated the matchup 49-0.

(Competition is starting)

Hemet is traveling up to Beaumont.  Hemet is fresh off their amazing victory over Citrus Hill. They have all the momentum and energy on their side going into this matchup against Beaumont. Beaumont seemed poised to finish at the top of the league until they ran into the San Jacinto Tigers last week: the Tigers brought them back to reality. Beaumont will be looking to rebound off of their week six lost and re-assert themselves amongst the best in the division. The last time Hemet and Beaumont played each other Hemet left the game the victors winning 25-14.  Even though this is a different team, Hemet will hope to have a similar performance.

Citrus Hill is hosting Tahquitz this week. Citrus is fresh off a loss against Hemet High, getting beaten by a field goal. Tahquitz is in a position to reap the consequences of that crushing loss. Citrus Hill doesn’t believe a team like Hemet should have ever beaten them. Hemet is a Division 11 team with a brand new QB; their offense and defense have been inconsistent for the majority of the year, showing flashes of brilliance at times, but they’ve struggled to get things going as of late. Citrus Hill is a Division 5 school with a huge roster and talent pool to match, which means they should have a huge advantage over schools like Division 11 Hemet.

Division 13 Tahquitz is the Dark Horse in the league. They certainly have the potential to play competitive games against the upper echelon, but they have a tendency to beat themselves by making silly mistakes.

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Bulldogs Make History, Tigers Assert Themselves In Division

In our first game this week we take you to Titan Stadium, where the Tahquitz Titans hosted their cross town rivals the West Valley Mustangs. Tahquitz and West Valley have been rivals since Tahquitz opened in 2007, forcing a very promising group of football players to split up.

In 2006 the West Valley Freshman Football team had an impressive 8-2 record, blowing out their opponents on a regular basis. Half of the team was relocated to Tahquitz and the other half remained at West Valley. Players from that Freshman team went on to receive scholarships, earn all-league honors, and play in many CIF games, but for different schools.

Both teams had to work off a lot of nerves in the beginning of the game. Tahquitz scored a defensive touchdown from a failed hand off attempt. The score quickly was 7-0.  Tahquitz wouldn’t let up either. Their offense looked electric, making quick well-timed throws. Tahquitz also found success when running the ball against West Valley. At the start of the fourth quarter Tahquitz was leading 24-6.

That’s when West Valley seemed to wake up.

They started playing the way their offense is designed to play: quick slants to their wide receivers and bubble screens to their speed guys. West Valley was able to get back into the game at 24-20.  Their defense made an incredible stand and got the ball back. With only 8 seconds left in the game and across mid-field they had time for just one play. West Valley’s quarterback launched the football all the way to the endzone, in a sea of Titans and Mustangs players. The Tahquitz Titans came up with the ball and secured the “dub.”

(Titans Hold Off Mustangs)

The Bulldogs welcomed Citrus Hill into their house. Citrus Hill is renowned as the team to beat in the league. Citrus Hill is ranked in a higher division and historically has dominated contenders. The last time they lost was in 2010 against Beaumont High School. Citrus came into the game with a 44-0 win streak against league opponents. Hemet embraced the underdog role and welcomed their opponents with attitude. The game was a defensive battle and Hemet showed that they are no one’s doormat.

In the fourth quarter the score was 7-7.  The game was filled with huge hits, trash talk, and aggression. Hemet would keep their composure and the offense would march down the field with less than two minutes to play. The ball was in the red zone, but it was fourth down. Coach Gregovich had a decision to make: go for it or trust his first year senior kicker Asaiah Aguilar (Asaiah is a soccer standout for Hemet High). Coach Gregovich decided he would put the game in the leg of his kicker. Asaiah Aguilar drilled the game winner and made history that night: Hemet never beat Citrus before last Friday. Now we are left to wonder: did David slay Goliath, or did they just awaken a sleeping giant?

Beaumont thought they were the team to beat in the league, averaging of 40 points a game in the first five games of the season. However, all of their first five opponents were ranked much lower than them in the Maxpreps California Rankings, (478, 910, 1007, 732, 809.). Beaumont was feeling confident with their 5-0 record coming into Friday night. San Jacinto had quite a different story this season: coming into Friday night they had record 3-2 record and played some very difficult opponents in the first half of their season.  

San Jacinto’s opponents were respectively ranked 253, 97, 301, 133, and 145. San Jacinto also averaged 21 points per game, but they have also been playing with a handicap: senior receiver Antoine Sullivan has been sitting out. Having Antoine really lets Coach Galliano open up his play book.  It also gives receivers Damonce Williams and Kameron Rocha a break since Antoine is a deep threat on every play. Opponents can’t ignore him and they have to know where he is at all times.

Beaumont was talking a lot of trash before this game, which really put San Jacinto in a good mental space. One player told me, “they are 5-0 but who have they played? A bunch of nobodies?” San Jacinto wanted to travel to Beaumont and prove just that. San Jacinto would win the game 45-21, led by Kajiya Hollawayne’s 301 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 80 rushing yards, and 1 rushing touchdown. Juan Denny’s 157 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns. Antoine Sullivan’s 148 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.

This week was a very fun week of league play with some surprising outcomes.

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Mustangs Off To A Hot Start

In this “Game of the week” brought to you by The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle, we will take you to West Valley as they welcome Desert Mirage into their house and maintain the momentum they have after their big victory in the first game of the season. Last week West Valley put on an impressive onslaught against Shadow Hills High School. The Mustangs put 40 points on the board with a huge 28 point third quarter. West Valleys’ defense was key in this game coming up with four interceptions during the game. West Valley came out on top of the game with a score of 40-34 and started the season equal with San Jacinto, Hemet, & Beaumont who all earn victories in the first week of the season.

Right now West Valley is ranked 458 in the state of California. Their Opponent Desert Mirage comes into West Valley ranked 938, which on paper means that West Valley should leave this game victorious, but Friday Night Lights are a beautiful thing as you never know what’s going to happen on the football field.  Desert Mirage brings in a new starting Quarterback to the team and a new Head Coach, which means the system could be completely different than what West Valley saw last year when they beat Desert Mirage 30-16. 

West Valley should leave the game with two “W’s” in the win column and help build positive momentum before league play starts in a few weeks. Other Mountain Pass League matchups this week include San Jacinto High(94) @ Woodrow Wilson High School (185), Beaumont (265) vs Pacific (802), Citrus Hill (95) vs Palm Springs (260), Tahquitz (710) @ Indio (965), Hemet (509) @ Vista Del Lago (629). Keep an eye on the Citrus Hill game this will be the first time they have played this season. It will be the first opportunity for the other schools in the league to get a scouting report on them as San Jacinto & Citrus Hills appear to be the top of the division. West Valley, Hemet, Beaumont, & Tahquitz are looking to dethrone the two powerhouses in the division and need to gather as much information as possible to do that. I would expect that San Jacinto & Citrus Hill aren’t even running the same offense and defense they will be when league play begins, to maintain dominance in the division.

Show some support for the Valley and show up to the game at West Valley High School at 7 o’clock tonight. A recap of the game will be available in next week’s paper. It’s important to show up to these games and buy tickets; it helps the high schools fund sports programs for the kids to participate in all year long.  

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