MidValleySports.Com

By Matt Schuler

(Azusa)- It was another first round home playoff opener, another Olympic league opponent, another match-up that the critics didn’t give the Aztecs a chance to win, but the ending to this story is quite different.

This year Azusa took fate into its own hands by rallying back from a 14-0 deficit to defeat  Valley Christian, 35-14, in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs Friday night at Citrus College.

Last year the Aztecs were dealt a similar hand in the opening round of the playoffs, facing Village Christian out of the Olympic, a game they lost 31-24 to end their season.

This year’s effort by the Aztecs was a team victory, but the one player that took the team on his shoulders was quarterback Jacob Martinez.

Down 21-14 with 4:14 remaining in the second, Martinez, who accounted for over 300 yards of total offense, threw up a prayer and connected with a leaping Jesus Arteaga in the end zone to deadlock the score at 14 a piece.

Desmond Reed, who finished with over 100 total yards, came up with the big defensive play of the night. With VC on the verge of scoring, Reed picked off a Patrick Avila pass in the red zone and returned it to the 50.

“The kids are just resillient and they want it bad,” said Azusa head coach Joe Scherf. “We had a good game plan going in and the kids executed it. Even when we were down, the whole time they never lost confidence.”

Coach Scherf then rewarded his tailback with the ball and Reed converted the two yard run into a touchdown, making it 35-14 with 3:01 to play in the game.

“We been down before this season and we’ve battled back,” said Scherf. “We knew we could move the ball on them, the question was can we move it consistently”.

The Aztecs (8-3) now look ahead to a quarterfinal match up with San Dimas (9-2), who they lost to 41-16 in their first regular season game.

Valley Christian started off the game hot, forcing the Aztecs opening two drives three and out and replying with two touchdown drives. First Avila hooked up with David Coley on a screen pass taken 39 yards for the score followed by a Jaylen Raye 20 yard toucdown run, creating a 14-0 gap with 1:43 to play in the first.

The Crusaders (4-7) also had two late game scoring oportunties, but turned the ball over each possesion in the red zone, including a goal line fumble recovered by Robert Chelada.