Game of the Week
Coachella Valley at Central
laying in its first home game this season, the Central Union High football team raced onto Cal Jones Field for its game against Coachella Valley here on Friday night.
The Spartans headed into the matchup intending to earn their first victory of the season, yet were met with a quick-starting Arabs team that was able to hold off Central in the second half for a 28-10 victory.
The loss drops Central to 0-3 on the season and despite the record, the Spartans have been competitive in every game on both sides of the ball and Friday was no different.
The Arabs went ahead 7-0 on a 32-yard run by J.J. Rodriguez with 8 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first quarter, which gave the Spartans the ball not long after the kickoff.
Following the score, the Spartans quickly gained a first down, yet lost possession after a fumble. Despite the early hiccup, the Central defense forced the Arabs to punt on the following drive after the visiting team went three-and-out.
Despite improving on the offensive side of the ball later in the game, the Spartans struggled to make consecutive connections early in the game, which put the ball in the hands of the Arabs, who went up 14-0 by the end of the first quarter.
Central started with the ball to open the second quarter, and got as far as the Coachella Valley 37-yard line before punting the ball. The Arabs made their way down the field and were about the score when the Spartan defense came up with a fumble and a recovery at the 2-yard line.
Unable to move the ball up field, the Spartans relinquished possession to the Arabs, who went on to score on the possession, giving them the 21-0 advantage with 6:13 left in the first half.
The Spartans would not be deterred, however, and responded with a score of their own after Gus Quinones scored on a 6-yard rush while Ricky Guzman added the extra point making the score 21-7 with 2:26 left in the second quarter.
After the Central score, the Arabs used an 80-yard play to reach Central’s 2-yard line and scored on a later play to take a 28-7 lead.
The dwindling clock forced the Spartans to pick up their tempo and helped them reach the Arabs’ 16-yard line before the end of the period, where Guzman attempted a field goal that sailed just left, leaving the score 28-7 at halftime.
While the Spartan defense was able to hold the Arabs in the final two quarters, the home team’s offense only managed a field goal in the third quarter despite long drives in both the third and fourth quarters.
Despite the team’s struggles, Central head coach Michael Hobbs said he liked the direction the team was moving in and appreciated the players’ efforts.
“We’ve gotten better each time,” he said. “We’re so close to turning that corner. The guys are executing and playing tough.”
Hobbs noted his quarterback Guzman is getting more comfortable hitting different targets and said the senior works hard with all the receivers.
“We practice that every day,” he said. “He’s focused on hitting those receivers’ hands, he doesn’t care who it is.”
Hobbs said he wanted to see his team build on the positive aspects of Friday’s game and learn from the mistakes before their game next week.
The Spartans travel to take on San Diego at 7 p.m. Friday.