The second-seeded La Jolla Vikings (6-5) suffered a tough 42-0 season-ending loss to the third-seeded Valley Center Jaguars (8-3) during a torrential downpour in the CIF Division IV football semifinals at La Jolla’s Gene Edwards Stadium last Friday, Nov. 30.
“We owe a lot to the ball boys,” Valley Center junior quarterback Tyler Bernard (8-of-12 passing, 203 yards, four TDs) said. “They changed our balls out. Got our balls dry. Because of them we were able to move the ball effectively in the rain.”
The Vikings received the ball first, though, and tried to move it effectively on the opening possession of the game. However, after two short runs by senior running back Jerrell Agnew and an 8-yard pass reception by junior wide receiver Joshua Rothman, the drive stalled and La Jolla was forced to punt.
The Jaguars responded with a 65-yard drive of their own that culminated with Bernard firing an 8-yard bullet for a touchdown to junior wide receiver James Johnson (six catches, 187 yards, four TDs). That gave Valley Center an early 7-0 lead with 7:31 left in the first quarter.
The Vikings got the ball back, but after Agnew and senior running back Ja’Rodd Watson ran for a combined 21 yards on five rushing attempts, La Jolla had to bring on the punting unit once again.
The Jaguars came right back and matched the lightning in the sky with their own version of thunder and lightning. In fact, this time it took Valley Center all of two plays to light up the scoreboard like a Christmas tree.
Sophomore running back Stanton Upson (14 carries, 73 yards) ran upfield for a five-yard gain before a 74-yard bomb from Bernard to Johnson extended the Jaguar edge to 14-0 with 4:19 remaining in the first quarter. It was at about this point in the game that the skies decided to open up again, taking the Viking crowd (what little there was of it to begin with) and any home field advantage out of the contest.
“La Jolla beat us 23-20 in the second game of the season,” Bernard said. “But we may have had a little bit of jet lag because we had just got back from beating Kamehameha (36-0) in Hawaii.So this rematch meant everything to us. We had a hard week of practice.”
Apparently, practice makes perfect where Bernard and Johnson are concerned. The Valley Center playmaking tandem sandwiched two more touchdowns around a 3-yard score by junior running back Justin Lawrence (13 carries, 87 yards, two TDs) to put the Jaguars up 35-0 in the second quarter.
“The weather wasn’t that bad,” Bernard said. “It was probably worse for the spectators because you guys had to stand there and get soaked. At least we were able to move around.”
Later in the second quarter, Lawrence moved around quite well on a 47-yard touchdown run to pad the Valley Center cushion to 42-0 as the two teams headed to the locker room for cover at halftime. After the intermission, it was more of the same as the rain continued to pour and the Jaguars continued to pour it on and pretty much seal the victory.
The Vikings squandered their best opportunity to break the shutout early in the fourth quarter.
On 1st-and-goal from the 6-yard line, La Jolla senior quarterback Matt Mulvey bootlegged left, but fumbled the ball out of the end zone for a turnover and a touchback.
“I thought Johnson was the best player on the field,” La Jolla coach Dave Ponsford said. “He, Bernard, Lawrence, and Upson are all underclassmen. We’ll be seeing them all again when we play each other next season. We play them every year now, but this was the first time it wasn’t close.”