On Oct. 12, the Bonita Vista High (BVH) Barons boys’ varsity football team hosted the Mater Dei High (MDH) Crusaders for their first divisional game of the season. Prior to the game, fans of both teams energized the stadium with an electric tinge as the Barons and Crusaders warmed up.
The sky dimmed and the stadium lights flashed on, making the crowd ready themselves for the long match ahead of them. Once the scoreboard’s buzzer went off, signaling the start of the game, BVH kicker, punter and junior, Richie Rojas (33) rocketed the ball into the away team’s endzone for a Crusader touchback, setting MDH to the twenty-yard line. The crowd roared with excitement, as the battle was going to begin.
“[The whole team] wanted their chance to play MDH. The players knew that MDH is a good team, but they still wanted to play them,” BVH Athletic Director and Head football coach Tyler Arciaga said.
MDH quarterback Kartell Purvis (9) kicked off his team’s drive by giving the ball to running back and senior Anthony McMillian (2) for a near automatic first down. Purvis then threw the ball 38 yards down the field to advance to the home team’s 30 yard line. After a brief second down set back, Purvis hands the ball to McMillian once again for another Crusader first down. Now within close range of the endzone, the Crusaders push four yards up the field, but the dominant BVH defensive line stops their attempt at a touchdown.
“[The team and I] would have liked to get more pressure on [Purvis] from the defensive line. It’s the defensive line’s responsibility to eliminate any big plays,” Arciaga said.
However, the Barons’ defense could only do so much against MDH, and within the first three minutes of the game the Crusaders would score. Now on the field, the BVH offense, led by quarterback and junior Isayah Luna (4), slowly creeps to get a first down after a pass to wide receiver, free safety, and senior Sergio Moreno (3). Now feeling comfortable, the BVH offense deploys their rushing attack, but a hole in the offensive line allows for MDH wide receiver, linebacker and senior Johnny Scott (8) to turn the ball over to the Crusaders at the 50 yard line.
“Running backs have the ability to break tackles and pull off some special moves, but their abilities don’t matter if the [offensive] line can control that line of scrimmage,” Arciaga said.
On their second play with the turned over ball, the Crusaders deploy running back, defensive back and senior Jordan Jackson (0), but his run is shut down by defensive end and senior Diego Bustamante (51), who forces Jackson to fumble at the 41 yard line. The Barons gained possession once defensive lineman and senior Zach Stuckey (59) made a quick fumble recovery, turning the ball over once more. The BVH offense comes back onto the field, with Luna getting sacked.
“The [offensive and defensive] lines are the catalysts of what helps make an offense or defense work. The quarterback cannot make a pass without having a line to protect him, nor can a receiver make a catch without a line protecting their quarterback,” Arciaga said.
The Barons go three and out and are forced to punt, with Rojas shooting the ball straight up much to the dismay of his teammates. The ball flies up in the air, and lands at the MDH 26 yard line.
“On punts, [the line] needs to do a better job at protecting our punter, and our punter needs to give us better punts,” Arciaga said.
MDH would make a quick drive upfield, ending with a quarterback sneak for their second touchdown, making the score fourteen to nothing. MDH kicks off once again, and the ball is caught by BVH defensive back, wide receiver and senior Jayden Peterson (5), who runs it to the 48 yard line before being tackled. With little more than a minute left on the clock, Luna launches the ball to wide receiver, defensive back and senior Julian Ramirez (18) getting just a few yards within the endzone. Arciaga chooses to run a quarterback sneak and Luna scores BVH’s only touchdown of the game. The next kickoff from BVH was caught at the ten yard line by wide receiver and defensive back, Mathew Carr, who ran it 90 yards for another MDH touchdown, and with a the extra point good, the score became 21 to seven.
“[The kickoff team] needs to have better coverage. [The team] gets a bit too relaxed in assuming our kicker can kick the ball into the endzone every time. And while [Rojas] does the majority of the time, which is very nice, but [the kickoff team] needs to be prepared when it does not. We were caught off guard yesterday, and MDH, who have explosive athletes, exploited that,” Arciaga said.
The remainder of the first quarter was not good for BVH. The Barons’ offense would fail to make progress as the Crusaders continually trampled across the field, getting seven more points. To end the quarter, a bad snap would result in BVH losing 14 yards.
“Whether it is a [bad] snap or a fumble, we can not do that. When we have a bad snap, [it puts our team in a] not a very favorable position from a play calling a standpoint,” Arciaga said.
The second quarter did not go well for BVH either, especially in the final minute when Rojas missed a field goal. During halftime, an enraged Rojas can be seen practicing field goals from the 50 yard line, missing a couple. At the end of the third quarter, both teams would repeatedly get penalized and ruin their short leg ups on the other, especially BVH who would get called on multiple false start penalties.
“When [our offense] jumped offsides, it is like, ‘why are we jumping offsides on our own cadence?’ As opposed to [MDH’s] defense, who seemed perfectly fine. The cadence is supposed to be used for an advantage, whether you’re in center, or in shotgun, [the cadence] has to be fundamental, like walking in the morning, [the offense] should not have to worry about [jumping offsides] as part of their play,” Arciaga said.
Soon after, Luna throws an interception to MDH wide receiver, defensive back and junior Isaiah Cook (4), who runs it for a touchdown. Amidst the drive, BVH left guard, captain and senior Kelly Brown (75) gets injured, heavily impacting the quality of the Barons’ interior offensive line. Despite their hardships, the BVH offense would continue downfield in large part due to MDH gaining a long string of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.
“MDH had three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, we did not have one. It shows that we are able to contain ourselves, and play within the scope of the rules,” Arciaga said.
The Barons struggled to fire up their offense and tensions rose on the sidelines, Moreno sternly telling Luna to throw him the ball The BVH crowd was noticeably quieter, with the fans not cheering due to the drastic score difference of 42-10. The Barons’ struggle only grew as Luna would throw another pick six, resulting in a score of 49-10. As the time runs out for the third quarter, the Barons on the sideline can be seen comforting each other about the game. At the start of the fourth quarter, Luna is sacked, and fumbles the ball. However, he doesn’t get back up. The stadium goes quiet, as everyone kneels and hopes that Luna is alright.
“[The team and I] hope he is doing okay. Today or tomorrow, he has an MRI scheduled. [The whole team, and I] just hope he comes back healthy.” Arciaga said.
As Luna is carted off the field, the stadium erupts with cheers for his efforts. With multiple players now injured, the game was basically over. BVH made a few runs and gains throughout the final quarter, MDH regained the ball and was stopped by BVH’s defense, and forced to kick a field goal, ending the game with a score of 52-10, with MDH declared as the champion.
“Ultimately, [the team was] disappointed that we lost, just like whoever we play. At the end of the day, the kids played hard, and [the team] had a couple kids who got injured [who] our thoughts are with.So we wanna make sure [the injured are] healing up, and that their injuries are not too serious so they will be able to continue their careers.Our team was the significant underdog, but that does not mean that [the team] can not play to win,” Arciaga said.
