By Tony Solorzano
(Whittier) – Santa Fe secured second place in the Del Rio League after knocking off Pioneer 35-7 to close out the 2010 Del Rio regular season Thursday night at Pioneer High.
What looked to be a defensive struggle changed in the final minute of the first half as the Chiefs (6-4, 4-1) scored twice in a span of 34 seconds, putting the game firmly under the Chiefs’ control. Before the game, Pioneer (5-5, 1-4) received word that the loss to Salesian was being reversed. Salesian was penalized for having an ineligible player on their roster, forcing them to forfeit their seven wins, including the 21-13 win over the Titans on September 17th.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Chiefs got the ball with 4:14 left in the half and after six plays on the ground, the majority of those runs by Alex Mirola, Justin Rincon, who split time under center with Christian Mahlstede, connected on a 37-yard pass to Steven Hernandez with 59 seconds left.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Chiefs recovered the onside kick at the Pioneer 42, but a personal foul called on the Titans advanced the ball to the 27-yard line. On the first play, Mahlstede connected with Hernandez for a 25 yard pass, putting the ball on the two-yard line, but another personal foul, this time on Santa Fe, moved the ball back to the 17. Two plays later, Rincon connected with Mahlstede for a 14 yard score with 25.4 seconds left. Although they got the ball back with 24 seconds left, the Titans were unable to move the ball before time expired.
At the start of the third quarter, the Titans started their first possession of the second half with Daniel Castro replacing Carlos Vasquez at quarterback, but the Chiefs made them pay for the switch. On the third play of the half, Campos was intercepted on the Titan 45 by Jonathan Altamirano, who ran the ball all the way back for the touchdown with 9:58 left in the quarter. The Titans got the ball back again, this time starting at their own 12 yard line.
This time, however, they relied on Paul Alvarez, who had taken over the main rushing duties after leading Rusher Tony Botello was injured in the game against Cal a week before. Alvarez combined eight rushes and a 14-yard completion from Campos to move the Titans deep into Chiefs territory. However, a fourth down pass attempt from Campos to Alvarez was incomplete, turning the ball over with 2:17 left in the quarter.
Although the Chiefs were stopped and forced to punt, a fair catch called by the Titans was fumbled and Pete Reveles recovered the ball on the Titan nine-yard line. On the ensuing play, Mahlstede, now back at quarterback, broke through the line of scrimmage and cruised for the nine-yard score with 10 seconds left in the half.
The Titans finally got on the scoreboard on their possession that started at the very end of the third quarter. Campos took the Titans from their own 18 yard line and drove them across mid-field, using the sweeps to the corners by Alvarez. However, an illegal motion and another personal foul forced the ball back across midfield, putting the Titans on their own 41 yard line facing a first down and 29. After Alvarez got the ball back across midfield, he took a handoff on third and 17 and rushed 47 yards for the Pioneer score, breaking the shutout.
Santa Fe would score one final time, again late in the game, as junior tight end, Romeo Prado scored from two yards out with 46 seconds left in the game to close out the scoring. Pioneer’s final possession ended as Sam Gonzales picked off Campos as time expired. After the game ended, the players started a small melee but the referees intervened and stopped the hostilities from escalating.
With the win, the Chiefs secured second place in the Del Rio standings, while Pioneer’s slim playoff hopes were dashed with the loss. Santa Fe racked up a total offense of 278 yards. Mahlstede led the ground game carrying the ball eight times for only 37 yards but scored one rushing and one passing touchdown.
Hernandez led the receivers with 86 yards on four catches including the 37-yard touchdown. Mahlstede and Rincon combined behind center, throwing six completions out of 10 for a combined 102 yards.
For the Titans, without the services of Botello, the senior Alvarez stepped into the breach to lead the Titan ground game. Alvarez carried the ball 23 times for 127 yards and a touchdown. He also caught three passes for 24 yards and Eddie Aguirre caught two passes for 15 yards.
Passing wise, Carlos Vasquez’ only completion, to Jeremy Corona, resulted in a five-yard loss. Campos connected five out of 11 times for 39 yards but threw interceptions at both the start and end of the second half.
The brackets for the Southeast Division will be announced Sunday morning, with Santa Fe in the mix for a possible first round home game on Friday night.
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