Hosting Point Loma, La Jolla High hung tough for the better part of 3 1/2 quarters, but ultimately the result was painfully familiar on Oct. 15. The Vikings dropped a hardfought 21-7 decision at Edwards Stadium. “We competed a little bit better,” said La Jolla head coach Rey Hernandez. “We went in (to the locker room) down 7-0 at halftime but we couldn’t play consistently on defense in the second half.” In the first half, the Vikings (0-6, 0-1 Western) played solid defense. They limited the Pointers (4-2, 1-0) to just one score, which came on a two-yard run by quarterback Thomas Mize with 6:39 left in the opening frame. It looked like the Pointers might add to their lead later in the quarter when they drove down to the La Jolla 14-yard line and decided to go for it on a fourth and three. But Viking defensive lineman Trevor Shelburne was up to the task as he clogged the middle and stopped the intended run short of a first down. “I got blocked by the center,” Shelburne said. “He blocked me down to the left so I spun out to the right and got an arm on him and my backers flew up and made the stop.” The Pointers continued to pound the ball on the ground in the second half. They succeeded in doubling their lead when Jaivon Griffin broke loose for a 31-yard scamper into the endzone to make it 14-0. “We had to get them out on that first drive and that was probably the turning point of the game,” Hernandez said. La Jolla was able to get back into it in large part due to the playmaking abilities of wide receiver Vincent Cheng. Late in the third quarter, the quick-footed junior blew past the secondary and reeled in a long pass from quarterback Cory Wagner before getting tripped up after a 47-yard gain. “I caught it and I started stumbling forward. I was trying to regain my balance and he just caught me from behind,” said Cheng, who racked up 121 yards on four catches. Wagner finished the drive by connecting with wide receiver Bobby Hill in the back of the endzone for a 10-yard touchdown with 11:46 left in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit in half. “I ran a cross and I was wide open,” Hill said. “He (Wagner) told me the play before, ‘Same play, it’s open,’ so I just ran it and it was wide open.” The Pointers all but sealed the deal when Griffin weaved his way for a nine-yard score with 4:59 left in the game to make it 21-7. The contest marked the initial Western League game for both teams. The Vikings’ final four games are all against league opponents starting with a road match against Hoover High School at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 22. “We have four league games left and we’ve got to try and win two games,” Hernandez said. “I’ve seen Hoover play. They’ve got a new program and a new head coach. It’s a good staff but I think we can compete with the teams in our league.”