Game of the Week Tigers look to break through vs. Monte Vista
IMPERIAL — Although the Imperial Tigers are 1-3, with more losses than any local team this side of Calipatria, it’s still possible they just might be the best team in the Imperial Valley League.
As contradictory as those two points may seem, there’s ample reason to consider them equally valid.
Yes, the story of Imperial’s 2019 campaign, as told by wins and losses, is an unfortunate one, but looking past those significant digits reveals a team that has performed impressively in defeat and is, in fact, bare inches away from 4-0.
Traditionally Imperial has played a bear of a nonleague schedule, and this year is no exception.
While their main IVL rivals in Central and Brawley have each had a patsy or two on the docket (Kofa and Indio come to mind, both winless in 2019), the easiest game the Tigers have had has been against the Holtville Vikings — who held Imperial to just six points at halftime in an eventual 28-0 loss and are currently 3-1.
The arbitrary and none-too-vigorous strength-of-schedule metric that is opponent wins and losses shows that Imperial’s opponents have a cumulative record of 11-4. The next toughest schedule an IVL team has played to date has been Brawley’s, and the Wildcats’ opponents just barely crack .500 at 5-4.
Even if, for the sake of argument, one converts all of Imperial’s losses to wins, their opponents still have an 8-7 overall record. So, yeah, it’s been tough sledding.
But despite the high baseline competency of the teams the Tigers been bumping up against weekly, Imperial has been in every single game they’ve played.
In Week 1, the road against Cibola, the Tigers weathered a 21-7 first-quarter deficit to find themselves down just one score and in position to win on the Raider goal line only to come up empty when a Joey Ramos run was stuffed on fourth down.
Two weeks later, against IVL boogeyman Gila Ridge (the Hawks are 3-0 this year, with wins over Brawley and Central in addition to the Tigers), Imperial once again nearly overcame a sizable point discrepancy with what had the makings of a storybook comeback effort. From down 21-0 in the first, the Tigers managed to work their way into a 34-34 tie with eight minutes left in the fourth only for a 37-yard field goal by the Hawks’ Pablo Vargas to beat them late.
Against Valley Center last week, the Tigers were able to flip the script … up to a point.
This time they were the ones who lead early — up 20-10 at the half — and they even managed to carry their lead late into the fourth quarter (34-31) with a chance to put the game away with one more good drive, before a turnover gave the Jaguars a second life, which they made the most of to win 37-34.
Of course, Imperial’s losses aren’t solely attributable to playing tough opponents. They’ve definitely got some kinks that they’ve been trying to work out.
Their offense was rocky to start the season. They had All-IVL slotman Ramos back from last year’s squad, but who would be feeding him the ball hadn’t quite been settled on, nor had who would get the lion’s share of the backfield work.
A quarterback competition between juniors Jordan Reed and Joaquin Alvarado played out over the Tigers’ first couple of games, with first Reed, then Alvarado, then Reed again holding firstteam status.
Ball security has been a real issue. Imperial has lost fumbles in each of their losses this year, with these turnovers almost invariably leading to easy points for their opponents.
On defense they’ve been boom-bust, particularly in pass coverage. Long completions have done a number on them.
These are all real issues and have to be sorted for the Tigers to make a serious IVL run.
But still … there’s something tantalizing about this team, a sense that things could come together for them in a hurry.
Reed has won the quarterback battle and has thrown for 200-plus yards and three scores in back-to-back weeks. Ramos continues to be maybe the best receiver around and is coming off a 10-catch, 120-yard, three-TD (one on a kick return) performance against SDS Division II Valley Center. Manuel Quintero, Brennan Adams and Jesus Padilla are a potentially potent committee at running back. Defensive back Andrew Luna has had interceptions in three out of four games. Tanner Travis and Ethan Ramos can tackle.
Against Monte Vista on Friday, Imperial will have a chance to prove they can put it all together.
Like the Tigers, Monte Vista sports a 1-3 record through four games, but they too have faced off against stiff competition — including Division I Lincoln High.
If Imperial wants to right the ship and grab their first home win of the year, they’ll likely need a big passing day, as the Monarchs have proven permissive against air assaults but are generally stingier on the ground. In the Monarchs’ three losses, only Christian High gained a majority of their yards via the rush.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Shimamoto-Simpson Stadium.