MidValleySports.Com

By Josh Ouellette

(Glendora)- For a game that seemed as if it would never end it all came down to one final play. El Monte was forced to go for two in the third overtime series, trailing 68-66 after a flurry of late point scoring. Running back Bryan Luevano took the carry to finish it off and force another overtime, but Gladstone safety Sergio Torres had other plans. He gave Luevano a cracking hit at the two and it was just enough to keep the Lions short of the endzone by a yard. 

Much of the game was this sort of tug-o-war battle for who was going to score. El Monte jumped out to an early 14-point lead thanks to a pair of rushing scores, one for quarterback Brandon Martinez and the other for Luevano.

But the Gladiators were resilient, constantly proving to be a thorn in the Lions’ side all night and never allowing the visitors close the game out. Moises Ruiz took the ball at the 30 yard line and burst 28-yards to the outside to the two, and a play later he punched it in. Following the Eduardo Cortez point after, the lead was cut in half to seven points.

EM didn’t hesitate though, scoring a little over than three minutes later on a two-yard gut puncher by Luevano, and following a two-point conversion the score was now 22-7 Lions.

Gladstone navigated an excellent two minute drive down the field with quarterback Kevin Amezquita hitting key passes by avoiding the rush time and time again, a trend he would follow all game long. Finally with only 0:46 ticks left on the clock Amezquita took it in himself from four yards out to cut the lead once again. After a Aaron Sanchez run for the two-point conversion it was 22-15 going into the break.

The Gladiators came out strong in the second half, stopping El Monte on its first drive. The Glads took the ball up field thanks to Amezquita and Sanchez runs only to score on a pass from Amezquita to Christian Arteaga from 21 yards out. Cortez nailed another PAT to tie it at 22 apiece.

The joy didn’t last long for G-Stone. The Lions went on to score on two successive drives. Each time Martinez connected with Josh Morales, from 20 and seven yards out respectively. After a going one of two on the two point conversions, the score was now 36-22 El Monte at the end of the third quarter.

Down two scores, the Gladiators had a little bit of luck go their way. Cortez returned the kickoff over 50 yards and a personal foul on EM was tacked on to bring the ball to the Lions’ 26. It only took one play for Amezquita to find Sebastian Kirchfeld in the back of the endzone on a perfectly executed streak and fade pattern for the 26-yard bomb. Yet another Cortez point after kick made it 36-29, and the Gladiators were back.

El Monte went on to score yet again in regulation on yet another Luevano touchdown carry, this one from 11-yards out. A Martinez sneak for the extra two points made the score a daunting 44-29 with just under eight minutes left in the fourth.

Led by the ever-scrambling Amezquita, G-Stone took the ball down and scored exactly three minutes after the Lions did on a one-yard dive into the endzone by Sanchez. Cortez’s PAT cut the lead yet again, 44-36.

For the first time all night, the Lions were forced to punt and it came back to haunt them. Kirchfeld fielded the ball at the his own eight and proceeded to find room on the near sideline bursting up field for a 57-yard return to set up the Gladiators with great field position. Gladstone had only had two and half minutes to score. The Gladiators only needed two of them. With just 27 seconds left Sanchez carried it in from a yard out, he also repeated the play by scoring the two-point conversion to tie it 44.

El Monte had four plays to win it but failed and the game went into overtime.

Gladstone won the toss and took the ball first, taking little time to score. Amezquita found Sanchez on a screen pass and the bulldozing running back showed his speed taking it 21 yards to paydirt for the score. Sanchez also gathered the two points.

El Monte took a little more time in their first overtime possession, but Luevano took it in from eight for the score, like his counter part he took in the two-point conversion as well, tying the game at 52 and giving the spectators another overtime period.

The Lions didn’t need much the second overtime around, with Martinez taking it for a keeper on the first play and scampering his way through the Gladiator defense for the 25-yard touchdown score. Luevano pounded in another two-point conversion.

Gladstone answered with another touchdown run for Sanchez, this time from nine yards away, with Sanchez blasting away another two-point conversion of his own. The score was tied again at 60.

The third overtime proved to be the most trying for both teams. G-stone started off well with a 14-yard pass from Amezquita to Arteaga, but the drive was stalled and the Lions forced the Gladiators to try and convert a fourth down. But the El Monte team committed an offside penalty to bring the ball closer and on the ensuing play Amezquita drove three yards forward for the first down. With only one yard to go Gladstone flipped the script and didn’t go to Sanchez, instead giving it to fullback Carlos Gomez on the trap play for the go ahead score. Amezquita then faked the handoff and rolled around the outside of the line for a smooth two-point tack on. Gladiators now had the advantage 68-60.

El Monte got off on the wrong foot on their third chance in overtime. On its second play of the drive while saving the interception, Abel Barrajas was flagged for the offensive pass interference call just outside of the goal line. Bringing the ball back to the 37. On third and 22 to go Martinez connected with Luevano on a broken play for a 24-yard pass to get the Lions out of danger. Five plays later Luevano took the ball in from one yard to paydirt for his fifth touchdown on the night.

Though he couldn’t pound it in on the two-point conversion to send the game into another overtime, Luevano can hold his head up high as he finished the night with 203 total yards and five rushing touchdowns. His quarterback, Martinez, concluded his evening with 330 yards passing, 97 yards rushing, and four total touchdowns.

Amezquita finished his night with over 315 total yards and four scores. Sanchez finished with over 120 total yards, also logging four scores into the stat books.

Gladstone will take head coach Albert Sanchez’s first 3-0 record on the road to La Puente (2-1).

El Monte will take their (2-2) record back home to face Bell Gardens.

Gladstone 68 – El Monte 66

Scoring Log:

6-0-   EM: 2nd 10:06: Brandon Martinez 21-yard TD run (2pt conv. failed)

14-0- EM 2nd 8:10: Bryan Luevano 1-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed; B.Martinez)

14-7-  G:  2nd 6:48: Moises Ruiz  2-yard TD run (Eduardo Cortez PAT good)

22-7-EM: 2nd 2: 39: B. Luevano 2-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed)

22-15- G: 2nd 0:46: Kevin Amezquita 4-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed; Aaron Sanchez)

Halftime Score EM 22- 15 Gladstone

22-22- G: 3rd 5:10: K. Amezquita –Christian Arteaga 21-yard TD pass (Cortez PAT good)

30-22- EM: 3rd 2:29:  B. Martinez – Josh Morales 20-yard TD pass (2pt conv. completed; B. Martinez)

36-22- EM: 3rd 0:00: B. Martinez – J. Morales 7-yard TD pass (2pt conv. failed)

36-29- G: 4th 11:40: K. Amezquita – Sebastian Kirchfeld 26-yard TD pass (Cortez PAT good)

44-29- EM: 4th 7:59: B. Luevano 11-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed; B. Martinez)

44-36- G: 4th 4:59: A. Sanchez 1-yard TD run (Cortez PAT good)

44-44- G: 4th 0:27: A. Sanchez 1-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed; A. Sanchez)

End of Regulation El Monte 44 – 44 Gladstone

1st Overtime:

44-52- G: K. Amezquita – A. Sanchez 21-yard TD pass (2pt conv. completed; A. Sanchez)

52-52- EM: B. Luevano 8-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed; B. Luevano)

2nd Overtime:

60-52- EM: B. Martinez 25-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed; B. Luevano)

60-60- G: A. Sanchez 9-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed; A. Sanchez)

3rd Overtime:

60-68- G: Carlos Gomez 1-yard TD run (2pt conv. completed; K. Amezquita)

66-68- EM: B. Luevano 1-yard TD run (2pt conv. failed; B. Luevano stopped a yard short of the endzone)

FINAL SCORE:

 

Gladstone 68 El Monte 66