MidValleySports.Com

By Josh Lowden

(Pasadena)- After an even first quarter, Maranatha was able to pull away in a 41-28 victory over the visiting La Puente Warriors Friday night in the first round of the CIF playoffs.

Andrew Elfers had an amazing first half, throwing for 330 yards and five touchdowns.

To start momentum for the Minutemen in its second possession, Elfers connected with Mark Jebbia on a 21 yard pass.  Maranatha gained even more yards as a Warrior defender was called for Roughing the Passer. Two plays later, Elfers connects with Josh Jones on a 12 yard touchdown pass. Matt Marbach missed the extra point.

On their next possession, La Puente showed their big play ability.  On the first play from scrimmage, Joey Espinoza broke a few tackles for a 26 yard play.  On the next play, Nicholas Barrientos took the handoff and ran it 50 yards for a score.

Down by a point, Maranatha drove the ball down the field effectively, converting on third downs to march down the field.  After finally being forced into a fourth down, the Minutemen successfully converted with a Elfers run.  On first down, Elfers again connected with Jones on a 32 yard touchdown pass to finally end the drive.

It appeared that the Warriors would come with a response.   On second down, quarterback Ivan Vasquez connected with Josh Paniagua on a wide receiver screen.  Paniagua was 42 yards from scrimmage when a Maranatha defender knocked the ball out of his hands and recovered it for a Maranatha first down.

Maranatha took advantage of the turnover.  Rj Straker caught two consecutive passes for gains of two and 19.  On the following play, Jones caught a screen pass and ran it 47 yards down the field to the La Puente 14. Jones was injured on the play and did not return to the game. 

Without Jones, Elfers was forced to find a new target.  On the play after Jones was injured, Elfers hit Straker for a 14 yard touchdown reception.

Elfers finished with 22 completion on 31 attempts for 359 yards and six touchdowns. Jeremy Major caught two touchdowns and Mark Jebbia also contributed with a touchdown reception.

“He’s a good kid,” Head Coach Joel Murphy said of Elfers.  “He’s athletic… He kept some plays alive.”

For the Warriors, Barrientos finished with 108 yards and a touchdown.  Brandon Rioes, Brian Avendano and Espinosa each had a touchdown.

Next week, Maranatha (8-3) travels to San Dimas(7-4) for the Mid-Valley Division quarterfinals.