Hornets upset White Tigers
CALIPATRIA — Opening the season against Escondido Charter High School has always been a tough battle for Calipatria High School.
The White Tigers have defeated Calipatria High the past three years quarterback Julian Medina has been on the team.
On Friday night, Medina, a senior, and the Hornets changed their opening season streak and were able to get an upset win over the White Tigers, 44-19, at Veterans’ Field.
“It was a tough game, but we came out on top. We just focused on beating this team because they had beaten us the past three years, so we just came today looking to beat them and we finally did,” expressed Medina.
The Hornets’ hardfought battle was highlighted by offensive performances from Medina and senior running back Nate Banuelos, who shared the backfield with senior running back Tyler Ruiz.
While the game started with a close 6-6 tie, which was the result of a short touchdown run from Medina, Calipatria showed they’ve greatly improved over the past three years, as another Medina touchdown run, followed by a 5-yard touchdown run from Banuelos, gave them a 20-13 lead at the end of the first half.
This marked the first time Calipatria had ever scored double digits against the White Tigers in the past two years, as last year they lost to Escondido 24-6 and in 2015 by 28-6 in their season opening games.
The performance in the second half from the Hornet’s offense and the quarterback and running duo could best described as a spectacle worth seeing.
“It’s not just me and Nate, it’s the whole team. It’s a whole family, we’re a family,” expressed Medina on the team’s successful performance while in possession of the ball.
Adding to their lead was a quarterback sneak touchdown run from Medina and a two-point conversation touchdown catch by Calipatria’s Marco Perez, and a 20-yard touchdown run from Banuelos, who thanked the team’s offensive line for helping him find the end zone.
After the running back’s touchdown, Medina successfully scored the twopoint conversation with a short run.
Followed was a 30-yard touchdown pass from Medina to Calipatria’s Fred Beltran and another Medina run for the two-point conversion, giving the Hornets a 44-19 lead by the end of the game.
“We’ve been real hungry. We’ve been doubted, they’ve been talking about that three year streak, but we wanted it to end. We were hungry, we wanted to get this win and show people we could put up a competition against anybody out there,” remarked Banuelos.
The Hornets, 1-0, are set to play 7 p.m. Friday against Maranatha Christian High School in San Diego.