Game of the Week Preview: Brawley vs. Imperial
Ahh, autumn. What a magical time of year. A time of renewal, when 110-degree weather gives way to the much more temperate one-double-zeros. A time for folks to sit back and reflect on … Wait a minute, what’s going on here?
Who’s getting all dewy-eyed about nature and stuff?
This is a sports page.
So here’s a real reason to get hype for the equinox: Imperial Valley League football is back! And, don’t look now, but it might be better than ever.
That’s right. After an unknowable number of nigh-unbearable days without the endorphin-pushing joy of IVL play, local pigskin aficionados finally get to breathe a sigh of relief this week, as area schools get down to the nitty-gritty of beating up on one another.
This year’s IVL season has the potential to be especially nip and tuck. Five of the League’s six teams currently have winning records, and the sixth (Southwest) is only one game below .500.
While, Central and Brawley have put together the most impressive campaigns so far, each of the other squads has enough ability upset the apple cart and deny those two in their quests for championship glory.
This Friday night at Shimamoto-Simpson Stadium, the Imperial High Tigers will get an early chance to do just that, as they take on the Brawley Wildcats at home.
Nobody should ever be sleeping on the Tigers. They have a tendency to come correct even in their down years, and there’s no real reason to expect this to be a down year.
Imperial enters IVL play with a 3-2 record. Their two losses came against Valley Center (who are the top team in their league) and a feisty Gila Ridge team that played Brawley hard.
They’ve got enough playmakers at the skill positions to be a tough out for anybody who faces them. First-year quarterback Santiago De La Torre may not be the most polished passer as yet, but he can really uncork one when circumstances dictate, and he’s plenty practiced at making plays on the ground.
Running back Nathan Hart is coming off a four-touchdown game against Mount Miguel, and wide-out Joey Ramos has proven to be a solid pass-catching threat, his 70 yards per game accounting for half of all Tiger receiving yards.
The team has a volatile quality to it. When everything clicks they can explode and bury their opponents under an avalanche of big plays, when things get out of sync they can get involved in some real dogfights.
They’ll need to get into one of their grooves to beat Brawley.
The Wildcats of 2018 have real “Big Bad Wolf” potential. They’ve got only one loss so far this year, against Steele Canyon — which was a game they had well in hand about 80 percent of the way — and they’ve leavened that with a tub-thumping 40-21 win against otherwise unbeaten Yuma Catholic.
Their offensive line play has been excellent, setting the tone early in games and allowing fullback Michael Moreno to coast past 100 yards on the ground in each contest.
They can really bear down on opposing teams, dragging them through the mud with their unrelenting brand of tractor-pull football.
Over the years, meetings between the Tigers and the Wildcats have evolved into must-watch events. Ever since the Tigers matriculated into the IVL following the 2008 season, they have vied, neck and neck, with their fellow felines for league supremacy. Last year was only the second since Imperial joined up that neither of the two schools finished the season with the IVL’s best record.
Brawley was tops in 2016, 2014, 2012, and 2010, while the Tigers took the crown in 2015, 2013, and 2011. They were really playing hot potato there for a while, with their in-season tête-à-têtes frequently being the pin around which the whole thing turned.
This year’s game could have similar significance (depending on what Central does) and both teams are treating it with the respect it deserves.
“We’ve been working really hard this week,” said senior Tiger receiver Haider Awan, speaking during Monday’s practice.
“We expect Friday to be very physical. … We expect it to be a fight, and not just a game,” he continued.
The Wildcats are the winners of two straight in this young rivalry, but they aren’t letting that get to them over in Imperial. Their plan is to “look straight ahead,” per Awan.
Over in Brawley senior Jonathan Gonzalez is expecting “a nail-biter.”
“[Imperial’s] a good team,” he said. “You can never take any team easy.” Brawley wants to “come out strong” and try to use early momentum to carry the day in enemy territory
Gonzalez called this year’s Wildcats “a special team” and said that the team is working hard to ensure that they don’t squander their potential.
All of which is to say, Friday night should have plenty of juice. It doesn’t get much better than this.