West Covina’s Aarron Franklin (44) caught a 24 yard touchdown pass for the Bulldogs’ first score
(Rowland Heights) – West Covina broke open a 7-7 tie at halftime with three scores in the second half to beat Rowland 28-7 in Hacienda League action. With the victory, Diamond Ranch’s win and a Bonita loss, all four teams finished at 4-2 in the Hacienda League.
“I would think we would get in (the playoffs). Although if there’s a four-way tie for first I don’t know what’s going to happen. We did what we had to do tonight,” said West Covina Coach Mike Maggiore. “We also did what we had to do last week. All we can do now is wait to see what happens. These guys right now are deserving of being in the playoffs.”
The Bulldogs did what they had to do by shutting down Rowland completely in the second half after allowing only a touchdown in the first. Rowland’s only score came early in the second when a 14-play drive ended with a 22 yard touchdown pass from George Campos to Joel Delgado to tie the score at seven. But that was it offensively for the Raiders. They punted on five of their next seven possessions and turned it over on an interception on another one.
They did have an opportunity to score late in the second qaurter but were stopped on fourth down at the West Covina 11 yard line.
“I thought our defense played tremendous in the second half and that was a key. They did everything they had to do and didn’t let up. I was really proud of the way our defense played,” Maggiore said.
The Bulldogs took a 7-0 advantage in the first quarter. West Covina drove 75 yards on 11 plays. Jon Najera connected with Aarron Frankin over the middle for a 22 yard touchdown strike.
In the second half West Covina broke it open. On their first series in the third, the Bulldogs took advantage by recovering an onside kick by Rowland at the 40. They promptly marched 60 yards for a score. Najera threw his second TD pass of the game finding Sidney Jones who made a leaping grab and slipped into the endzone for a 14-7 lead.
“He’s a great athlete with great hands,” Maggiore said of Jones.
West Covina put together another drive late in the third into the fourth. The march covered 61 yards and Najera did it himself this time on a one yard sneak on fourth down. The drive was highlighted by a 31 yard pass to Jones down to the Rowland two to set up the score.
The Bulldogs iced it with 9:25 left in the game when Aaron Salgado broke off a 42 yard touchdown run for the final score of the night. Salgado’s run came on the first play after a Rowland turnover.
“High school kids don’t like to tackle 200 pound guys coming at them. He (Salgado) made a great run. All of those five and seven yard runs earlier set that one up,” Maggiore said.
Salgado finished with 17 carries for 89 yards and the touchdown. Antonio “Noodles” Hull had eight carries for 63 yards. Najera completed five of seven passes for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
For Rowland Avery Duffus was the focal point of the offense. He rushed 21 times for 96 yards. Campos completed nine passes for 86 yards and a score.
Rowland is expected to be playing in the post season with an overall record of 7-3.
“We went toe to toe and battled with them in the first half but then the wheels just kind of fell of the cart for us,” said Rowland Coach Craig Snyder. “But I’m really proud of these kids for our record. They’ve worked their butts off and they’ve battled through a lot of adversity. This is a tough league.”
WC 7 0 7 14 28
R 0 7 0 0 7
Leave a Reply