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2009-11-21

2009-11-18

2009-11-05

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Saturday, October 03, 2009 12:35 AM

Mission Valley topples Falcons

By MIKE WEBBER, Special to The Herald

POMONA — The Mission Valley Vikings wear the same cardinal red and gold colors most football fans would associate with the University of Southern California Trojans.

If you squinted a little Friday night, they looked like USC of the John McKay era as they marched the ball up and down the field, breaking big runs on student-body right sweeps around the edge. Their offensive performance resulted in a 42-10 victory over the West Franklin Falcons.

The Vikings came into the game undefeated, while the Falcons were winless, so the final result was not a surprise. Early in the game though, the Falcons looked like they might be able to pull an upset.

West Franklin forced the Vikings into turnovers on each of their first two drives. Brandon Jung jumped on a fumble stopping the Vikings’ initial drive that had probed as far as the Falcon 5-yard line.

The Vikings’ second drive was halted by Jared Carlson when he picked off an errant throw and returned it 17 yards to the Vikings’ 8-yard line.

That interception gave the Falcons a shot to grab an early lead and possibly panic the Vikings. They were unable to cash in on the opportunity. On third and goal, the Falcons were flagged for holding, and after an incomplete pass on third down, they missed a 39-yard field goal attempt.

Even though a golden opportunity was lost, the Vikings still were starting the ensuing drive at their own 20-yard line. The Falcons could not force an error on this drive. On the first play of the second quarter, the Vikings broke the scoreless tie when their tailback, Caleb Baber, scored his first of three touchdowns on the night with an 11-yard run around the right end for a touchdown.

The Falcons’ offense couldn’t get out of their own way for the remainder of the half, fumbling the ball away once and throwing an interception on another drive. They made just two first downs in their four second-quarter drives.

The Viking offense no longer was stopping itself. It would score on each of its next three drives of the first half, which gave Mission Valley a 28-0 lead at halftime.

The scoreless tie at the end of the first

quarter seemed like a distant memory.

The Vikings veer-style offense was difficult for the Falcons to stop.

“They are a well-coached team, and they have multiple players with speed,” West Franklin head coach Chuck Lee said. “The veer spreads the defensive assignments, essentially leaving you with one player that is assigned to stop the dive, one to stop the pitch. They took advantage of our mistakes.”

“With a team like, that our margin for error is very small. We really need to improve our consistency, play through the breakdown.”

The Viking offensive assault didn’t stop after halftime. The Falcons looked like they had stopped the Vikings’ first drive, but when Mission Valley punted the ball away, it bounced off a Falcon’s leg down field.

When the players unpiled after scrambling for the ball, the Vikings had regained possesion of the ball. Two plays later, quarterback Ryne Cook carried the ball 30 yards for a touchdown.

The final Viking touchdown came on the next drive when Baber scored on the 13-yard run on a student body right sweep. Baber ended the night with 156 yards rushing on 18 carries. He also had three catches for 22 yards.

Cook had an excellent night also, completing eight of his 12 pass attempts for 92 yards and gaining 90 yards on nine carries.

After stopping the next Falcon drive, the Viking junior varsity entered the game with 6:11 remaining in the third quarter.

The Falcons’ two fourth-quarter scores were a 29-yard field goal by Cord Cunningham and a 17-yard touchdown reception by Austin Gilbert from Storm Mattas.

The Falcons’ best chance for a win this season may come next week when they celebrate homecoming.

Their opponent will be Northern Heights, which only has notched one win this season.

“We have a lot of work ahead, and we need to continue to grow as a team if we are going to be successful,” Lee said.

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Mission Valley topples Falcons

By MIKE WEBBER, Special to The Herald

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article | Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.