By Tony Solorzano
(Whittier)- The Adam Contreras era has begun at California High as the junior quarterback led the Condors to a 24-10 victory over the Whittier Cardinals to open the Del Rio League portion of their season Friday night at Whittier District Field.
As is the case with sharing their home stadium with both Whittier and La Serna, Cal High (3-2-1, 1-0) was the visiting team as the Cardinals (3-3, 0-1) played host. However, regardless of which side the Condors were on, Contreras and the offense staked claim to the home field advantage with a stellar night in the air and on the ground.
The Cardinals got on the board first with a 24-yard field goal from kicker Kevin Medina midway through the first quarter. The Condors answered when they got the ball back using up almost all of the remaining 6:23 left in the quarter to go 72 yards in 11 plays, capped by the first of Terris Jones’ three touchdowns, an 11 yard run with 17 seconds left in the quarter to give Cal the 7-3 lead.
The Cards answered back when they got the ball on a touchback and Whittier quarterback Matt Viramontes engineered an 80-yard, 12-play drive to regain the lead. Ironically this particular drive was the only time Viramontes completed any passes, getting three completions for 20 yards. Running back Bryan Carrillo capped the drive with a one-yard run on second and goal, giving the Cardinals the 10-7 lead at the break.
In the third, Cal took advantage of a Whittier fumble in the red zone, stopping a potential scoring drive by the Cardinals and driving 86 yards. Jones got his second touchdown, a one-yard run, to regain the lead 14-10 with 5:10 left in the third. It would be all they would need to win the game, but Jones tacked on his third score, this one his longest to date this season, a 52-yard run with 8:54 left in the game. Cal kicker Tyler Hadden added a 45-yard field goal with 1:33 left in the fourth to get to the 24-10 final.
For the Cardinals, Viramontes was largely ineffective in the air, getting only three completions in 13 attempts for 20 yards. Half of his incomplete passes, though, were on target to Thaddeus Glenn, who was unable to haul in the strikes that would have changed the game for the Cardinals. Alex Gonzalez led the ground game with 12 carries for 110 yards, while Bryan Carrillo had seven carried for 41 yards and the lone touchdown.
For Cal, Contreras, in his first full start as quarterback went eight for 11 for 105 yards, while Jones continued to tear up the Cal rushing records, taking the ball 27 times for 184 yards.
Cal hosts co-leader El Rancho next Friday at home while Whittier travels to Titan Stadium and takes on Santa Fe. Game time for both is 7 p.m.
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