By Steven Mercado
(La Puente)- The La Puente Warriors dominated on their home field as they shut down Sierra Vista’s passing game and gave a great all-around offensive performance as they finished with a 33-12 win over the Dons on Friday night.
The Warriors are now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Montview League standings. The Dons are now 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the league.
The first touchdown of the game came off a punt. La Puente senior wide receiver/defensive back Jose Ochoa caught the punt on his 45-yard line as he found his blocks, put on a few moves and sped past the defense for the 55-yard score.
Sierra Vista answered with a touchdown of its own on the next drive from junior fullback/defensive lineman Isaak Chavez by way of a two-yard run.
La Puente and Sierra Vista alternated scoring drives, but the game was not as close as it seemed. In the third quarter, the Warriors nearly matched the amount of points they put up in the first half. Once the Warriors’ offense got going, it was too much for the Dons to handle. The Warriors defense figured the Dons offense out a little over halfway through the third quarter and Sierra Vista could not get anything going.
***La Puente senior quarterback Jacob Tovar’s performance: 18-for-23, 244 passing yards, TD, interception; two carries for five yards, TD
***Sierra Vista junior running back Justin Torres’ performance: 25 rushes, 194 yards, TD
***Sierra Vista junior quarterback Steve Aguayo could not get anything going because of La Puente’s relentless pass rush. All seven of his attempted passes were incomplete and two of them were picked off by La Puente senior wide receiver/defensive back Mathew Arguelo.
***Out of Tovar’s first six pass attempts of the game, five of them were completed to Arguelo. Arguelo finished with six receptions for 60 yards and two picks on defense.
***During La Puente’s first drive of the second-half the officials called three offensive holding calls during the duration of the drive. Sierra Vista recovered a fumble at the 25-yard line and on the following play, Torres busted a 75-yard touchdown run. The Warriors’ coaching staff was irate, claiming there were three offensive holds on that run alone that the referees missed.
***Ochoa totaled for 102 all-purpose yards (not including his punt return for a touchdown).
***Two plays after Sierra Vista’s first touchdown, Ochoa runs the ball to the left side, sophomore wide receiver/outside linebacker Trey Shanks rips the ball out of his hands, and runs it to the Warriors’ 15-yard line.
***Two of the three red zone opportunities for Sierra Vista resulted in turnovers on downs.
***La Puente’s final two touchdowns came on the ground: Junior running back/linebacker Fernando Barreras pounded the ball past the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown run and junior wide receiver/defensive back Erick Morales ran in a 1-yard touchdown.
***Morrison on Tovar: “He throws the ball really well, he’s not a great runner, but he’s a good-enough runner and his specialty is staying composed and managing the game. He doesn’t make many mistakes and the kinds of mistakes he typically makes cost us yards and not balls. Jacob is a really good game manager, he knows how to get the ball into our playmakers’ hands and when all else fails, he can make the play with his feet.”
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