Two great football teams met in Point Loma Friday night, Nov. 24. Though the outcome was in question with seconds left, the Pointers celebrated a huge turnover to emerge victorious.
“It’s playoff football. Anytime you play a team like this, it’s going to be a tough game and it’s going to go back and forth, there’s going to be momentum swings,” said head Coach Mike Hastings. “I was super-proud of our guys at the end of the half, how we went down with a minute and a half and got that field goal.”
The final score was not completely indicative of the game. With a chance to tie it up at 24, Valhalla’s running back coughed up the ball on the goal line, giving senior running back Lester Arnold the opportunity to scoop and run for a defensive touchdown.
“They stuck with us the whole game. They was up, so we pulled together and ended up winning,” Arnold said. “We’re going to come with it next week.”
The first quarter was a defensive battle, the scoreboard stagnating until the second period, when both teams put up touchdowns. Arnold set up his own first score with a 25-yard run before his 2-yard battle into the end zone.
Valhalla needed the entire first half to sustain a scoring drive, when quarterback Tomas Karagianes ran in the final yard with less than a minute left. Point Loma didn’t want to go into the locker room tied up and got well within range of Steven Padilla’s leg, racking up three more on a 37-yarder.
“They came out strong, but we came out full-go in the second half,” said senior defensive back Josh Canup. “The seniors talked about leaving it on the field, and on defense we came out hard on every play no matter what.”
The second half was another game, with Valhalla coming out on top at the end of the third quarter after running back Jonathon Murray ran in from the 3, putting the Norsemen up 14-10.
The fourth quarter was all Pointers, with Arnold scoring his second of three touchdowns by breaking 53-yards just seconds into the final period. Valhalla was only able to muster a 20-yard field goal, but it was enough to tie the game for a few minutes.
Arnold showed his other talents when he drew the Norsemen defenders on a fake from Shaw, all the while junior tight end Marc Aros was sprinting down for a 23-yard reception. That play set up junior running back Josh Wade’s 8-yard touchdown with a minute left.
It looked like Valhalla might repeat its last-minute victory from the past week, but as the clock ran out, so did its luck. The ball popped out on the 2-yard line and Arnold ran down the field to sew it up.
“Their quarterback is a great athlete. He’s really fast around the edge and we had to contain him without defensive ends outside,” Canup said. “We knew that if they scored at the end, then we’re down, and we can’t have that, so everybody was pumped up.”
Point Loma will battle Steele Canyon at Cathedral Catholic High School, 5555 Del Mar Heights Road, Thursday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. for the semifinal game.
