San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
HOLTVILLE GOES TO AIR TO WIN IT ALL
With momentum seemingly switching sides, what had been a run-happy Holtvile High School football team turned to an old friend: the touchdown pass.
Sophomore quarterback Alonso Cuevas threw a pair of fourth-quarter TD passes and fellow sophomore Enrique Armas ran for what proved to be the winning touchdown late in the game as the Vikings subdued Army-navy Academy, 27-21, in the inaugural CIF Division 5-AA championship game on Saturday.
The long trip from the Imperial Valley to Escondido High School’s Chick Embrey Field proved to be worthwhile for a Holtville squad which followed up a Desert League championship by claiming the school’s seventh San Diego Section crown and its first in 10 years while finishing with
Holtville 27, Army-navy 20
a 9-2 record.
“I’m very proud for all of our seniors,” said Cuevas, who redeemed himself impressively in the second half after throwing an interception late in the first half which led to an Army-navy score. Cuevas completed 6 of 7 passes in the second half for 81 yards, including touchdown throws of 13 yards to Alan Carrillo and 12 yards to Bradyn Terrill just four minutes apart as Holtville overcame a 14-7 deficit.
“This had been a resilient group all season,” said Vikings coach Jason Turner, whose team finished the season with seven consecutive wins. “We were losing 14-0 to Palo Verde before coming back to win, and we barely beat Vincent Memorial with 1.1 seconds to go.
“But Army-navy is no joke with that big wall on defense.
Army-navy’s Nehemiah Brunson Jr. (3) walks off field as Holtville celebrates winning 5-AA title.
That’s why we went to a seven-man front with all linemen and no tight ends. We knew we had to run the ball on them.”
The result was a running game which included 145 yards on 21 carries by Armas, an additional 81 yards
on 16 attempts by senior running back Griffin Garcia, and 58 yards on nine rushes by Cuevas, who completed just 1 of 4 passes for 5 yards in the first half before finding his touch in the second half and finishing with 20 touchdown passes for the season.
“When we do good as running backs, it’s the support of the offensive line,” said Armas, whose 4-yard touchdown run with 3:35 remaining in the fourth quarter came six plays after a clutch interception by senior Bryce Buscaglia for his fourth pick of the season. “It’s my teammates who make me work harder.”
The two teams battled to a 7-7 stalemate in the first half despite the fact that Holtville ran 20 more offensive plays than Army-navy. The Vikings scored on their first possession by marching 63 yards on 13 plays, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Garcia.
Following an exchange of possessions, Holtville took over at the Army-navy 36 with 1 minute remaining in the first half following a Warriors punt from their own 9. On first down, Cuevas was intercepted by Army-navy’s Eugenio Elordoy, who returned the theft 74 yards to the Holtville 9-yard line.
After a sack by Holtville’s Maddox Toten, Carlos Ramirez threw a 15-yard TD to Landon Schrom with just 23 seconds to go before halftime to knot the score at 7-7.
Army-navy took the second-half kickoff and marched 84 yards on 11 plays while chewing up 7½ minutes on the clock. Ramirez, a junior, completed 6 of 6 passes on the drive, including three completions to Nehemiah Brunson Jr. of 17, 19 and 11 yards before Ramirez scored on a 1-yard sneak for a 14-7 Warriors lead.
Holtville responded with touchdowns on its next three possessions, and after Ramirez and Brunson hooked up for a 25-yard TD pass with 2:28 left to close the margin to 27-21, the Vikings were able to run out the clock.