The La Jolla Vikings showed that they are the real deal, blowing past Clairemont 19-7 on Friday night as they move through the playoffs.
With the top teams in the Western League idle on bye weeks, the La Jolla Vikings started the hard way by hitting the field during the first round against a tough Clairemont squad that refused to go quietly.
The first half was fairly quiet, with two field goals the only scoring, but the teams showed signs of life in the second.
“We kinda chewed on them a bit at halftime and told them to get out there and find some pride because we were gettin’ beat on the line of scrimmage in the first half,” head coach Dave Ponsford said. “I thought the kids responded well; they put together a couple nice drives and I think they picked their game up. I’m proud of them for that.”
Both teams came out a bit flat on offense, with the first quarter ending scoreless, the defensive units taking charge for each squad. The first points to adorn the big board didn’t appear until almost two minutes into the second half when La Jolla stalled in the red zone and senior Andres Liera kicked a 29-yard field goal.
The next Clairemont possession came to an abrupt end a few minutes later, when senior linebacker Phillip Stewart recorded his first of two sacks on the night at the Chieftains’ 17-yard line. The next Viking drive stalled as well, but with the clock winding down on Clairemont’s drive, Stewart ruined the party again, this time causing a fumble on the sack. Clairemont recovered but was forced to punt.
La Jolla then had less than a minute left in the half and made the best of it. Senior wide receiver David Harpster grabbed a big 30-yard reception up the left sideline, and it seemed as though the Vikes were finally going to get into the end zone. Senior Igor Seriba added his own 19-yard catch to get the ball inside the 10, but once again the kicking team took the field and Liera added three more from 13 yards out.
After the locker-room talk, the team seemed to come alive, with the first touchdown coming midway through the third quarter. Junior running back Jerell Agnew led the offense down the field, then took the handoff from Matt Mulvey on the 12-yard line and dived in for a touchdown.
“I think we came out and asserted our offensive line more in the second half — to me, that was big,” Ponsford said. “No matter what adjustments we make, the kids still have to go do it; the whole offense picked it up and made the plays.”
The Chieftains put together a complete drive in the fourth quarter, capped off by senior running back Mario Leon’s 12-yard touchdown run. It was, however, the last time Clairemont would get that chance, and La Jolla’s defense held them virtually motionless for the remainder of the game.
La Jolla’s big junior fullback Ja’rodd Watson added the final nail to the coffin when he rumbled around, and over, the Chieftains defense from five yards out to end the game.
“The O-line gave me better holes in the second half and I just hit them, I just did my job,” Agnew said. “Everyone has to be in practice this week and work hard to get ready for Mission Bay because they’re a good ball team.”
La Jolla will be tested at Mission Bay on Friday, Nov. 24, 1:30 p.m., for the second round of playoffs.