Tim Peterson
The “Wing Z” offense that is run by San Dimas has always been difficult to stop. The Saints offense involves several misdirection plays on the ground, with running backs at times going in different directions. The ball is usually well hidden and sometimes is impossible to pick up until you see either the quarterback or one of two or three backs running up the field with it.
For defensive coordinators it’s always a nightmare especially when given only a week to prepare. But this year the Saints have taken it to a different level. Friday night in the Mid-Valley semi-final game against Arroyo they racked up over 600 yards on the ground. No, that’s not a typo…600! That’s a good month for most teams. Joseph “The Count” Mayorga rushed for a school record 322 yards while his running mate Fausto Martinez had 215 on the ground.
San Dimas scored on nine of its 12 possessions for 61 points and on two of those possessions the Saints fumbled the ball, once deep in Arroyo territory. Otherwise they’re in the seventies. Of course that wouldn’t be anything new for San Dimas this year. They put 70 on the board in October against Baldwin Park.
The Saints were 0-4 to start the year and people started wondering if they could turn it around. Well they turned it around all right. That has to be the understatement of the year. In the last nine games, all victories, the Saints have outscored their opponents…are you ready for this?…476-123. In the last two weeks they’ve scored 117 points.
During the nine game run the lowest point total they have had was the first game of the streak when they put 41 on Northview. The Saints scored over 50 twice during the run in addition to the 61 and the 70 point games.
The rushing statistics are even more mind boggling. Mayorga (1712) and Martinez (1196) have both eclipsed the 1000 yard mark and San Dimas has two other rushers in quarterback Josh Avila and Manny Elizalde that have at least 400. Avila has 422 and Elizalde has 508. The Saints have run for 61 touchdowns overall with Martinez leading the way with 22.
Paraclete figures to be the best defense San Dimas has faced since September but the Spirits are going to have their work cut out against an offense that right now is the hottest in the valley.
Arroyo head coach Jim Singiser may have said it best after Friday night’s game. “We just couldn’t stop them. It didn’t matter what defense we put out there we couldn’t stop them.”
All year it’s been said that Paraclete was the one Mid-Valley team that could beat Monrovia. Well, they did exactly that Friday night with a 22-21 win. My only question is why did Kurt Scoby get only 16 carries?
Frankie “Football” Palmer gets another shot at a CIF title. He can lead the La Serna offense to enough points to win but can his defense stop Rashaad Penny and undefeated Norwalk?
Did you notice in last week’s “Game Night” that we picked the exact score of the Nordhoff-Bishop Diego game? Yes, we cover the Northwest.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
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