Birthday or not, there wasn't much Roddy Layton wanted to see in the first half against Walnut
By Matt Schuler
(Walnut)-There’s no better reward for a head football coach than having his team win ball games, but the present Panthers head coach Roddy Layton received from his kids on Friday is what made coaching on his birthday all the worth while.
Diamond Ranch used a 5-touchdown second half surge to rally back from a 21-0 halftime deficit and defeat Walnut in a overtime thriller, 35-28, Friday night at Kenn Gunn Stadium.
“I guess that is my present,” said coach Layton as his team sang him happy birthday from the sideline after the win. “That was an emotional game.”
Tied at 28 in overtime, Walnut had the opportunity to strike first blood, but Vincent Carlos picked off Brandon Roach in the end zone and all D Ranch needed to do was knock in a field goal to win the game.
The snap was fumbled on the first offensive play for the Panthers and Walnut pounced on it to force a turnover and second overtime series.
This time Diamond Ranch began the series on offense and San Diego State bound tailback Chase Price made sure his team got in the end zone with a four-yard bruising touchdown run, pushing the lead to 35-28 with a last chance opportunity for Walnut to answer back.
But Roach’s fade pass to 6’5 Washington bound Aubrey Coleman was picked off by a Panther defender and the D.R bench exploded on to the field in excitement as the whistles blew.
Price finished with over 300 total yards on offense, including 4 touchdowns; two rushing and two receiving.
“He’s a stud,” Layton said. “He can catch the ball, he runs the ball hard, he’s hard to tackle. That’s why he’s a division one athlete, I told him several times tonight were just riding on your back and he carried us.”
DR scored 28 consecutive points in the second half and it was Price who was the main catalyst for the Panthers, scoring two of his four touchdowns in the second quarter to rejuvenate his team after it looked like it was going to be a long night.
“The guys talked about Diamond Bar all week and this is what happens,” said Layton referring to last weeks 41-0 shutout over the schools rival. “Walnut came out and punched us in the mouth.”
The Mustangs jumped on top of the Panthers early when Jason Tsukada ran back the opening kickoff 95-yards to the house after finding an open seam down the middle of the return coverage.
The Stangs onslaught continue with Coleman capping drives with touchdown runs of 3 and 2-yards to open up a 21-0 lead with 1:33 to play in the second quarter. Coleman finished with 6 catches for 126 yards receiving.
From there D-Ranch put the D in Defense and forced four consecutive stops, which converted into four consecutive touchdowns for the Ranch.
“Defense is what its all about,” said Layton. “At halftime we made our adjustments, I told the defense I did not want another point scored and I told the offense I expect us to go out and finish the second half.”
Diamond Ranch (3-3, 2-0) will try to keep an unblemished league record next week against Michael Ball and the Rowland Raiders (4-2, 1-1). Walnut (2-3, 0-2) plays at Diamond Bar (4-2, 0-2).
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