Tigers tear through Bulldogs in 35-0 win
CALEXICO — The Calexico High School defense prove no match for Imperial High School’s relentless ground game Friday night.
The Tigers simply mauled the Bulldogs, 35-0, at Ward Field, extending a winning streak against their Imperial Valley League rivals that goes back to 2010.
The Tigers took a 16-0 lead into halftime, capped by a Ethan Gonzalez Lopez field goal with a second left on the clock.
The Bulldogs, led by quarterback David Esquer, hoped to regroup in the second half, but they were never able to establish any momentum.
“I feel like in the first half, actually, we were doing really good — driving the ball,” the sophomore QB said. “And the second half is where we, kind of, just lost the momentum off little mistakes and stuff.”
One of those mistakes came with 10:27 left in the third, when the Bulldogs attempted to punt from their own 20. Ivan Garibaldi’s was blocked, and the Tiger ran it back for a touchdown. The PAT failed, leaving the score 22-0.
Imperial inside linebacker Kye Bishop said the defense found it “pretty easy” to get through Calexico’s offensive line on Friday.
“We all had our own great plays,” the junior ILB said. “We all had our chance tonight to make a big play and just have fun. It was fun.”
On the other side of the ball, a strong performance from Imperial’s offensive line allowed senior running backs Jovanny Escalante and Brennan Adams to maneuver downfield.
“Our line was making great holes,” Adams said. “There was really, really, really good blocks. They opened it up for me, and I was able to just hit the holes and take off.”
One play where this was evident came with 8:03 left in the third, when senior center Caleb Rollins plowed the way for Adams to score from 12 yards out.
“He was able to pull the guard to the inside, and I was able to just cut up the middle,” Adams said of Rollins, who is 6 feet tall. “It was wide open from there.”
After Lopez’s PAT, the Tigers’ led 29-0.
Imperial’s final blow came with 10:11 left in the game, when senior quarterback Joaquin Alvarado tucked it in and scored on a QB keeper from 3 yards out. The PAT missed, making the score 35-0.
“I believe we came in here just wanting to be able to win, be able to play our best as the season’s coming towards an end,” Adams said. “And that’s what we came here and did.”
The Tigers (2-2 overall) will be attempting to end their season on a winning note, as they’re scheduled to host Southwest High at 7 p.m. Friday.
Although a winning record finish won’t be possible for the Bulldogs (1-3 overall), the team will be fighting for some civic pride, as they’ll be playing cross-city rival Vincent Memorial at 7 p.m. Friday. Game site is to be determined.
After Friday’s game, Esquer estimated that 95 percent of the team is hurting “in some way.”
“We just have to suck it up, because we don’t have a replacement for everyone,” the QB said. “We just gotta go all out. We’re going to just focus on watching film and getting better as a team — going back on Monday to practice and just working hard for next week against Vincent.”