Jump Ball! Azusa wins in the first round for second consecutive year
By Matt Schuler
(Azusa)- Covina was thinking upset on the bus ride over to Citrus College, but no one told that to back-to-back Montview League champion Azusa, who rolled over the Colts 41-13 to kick off the first round of the CIF playoffs Thursday night.
The Colts, who were the third seed in the Valle Vista league, actually led 6-0 in the first quarter after sophomore quarterback Billy Livingston connected with Andrew Carrillo in the end zone from 16-yards out. Oscar Salazar set up the touchdown with a 41-yard run.
That’s when the Aztecs put up 41 consecutive points and dismissed any hope of an upset for the second year in a row against Covina. Azusa also defeated the Colts last year 27-6 in the first round deja vu match up.
“Offensively we just figured out what we could do against them,” said second year Aztec head coach Joe Scherf. “We started throwing a little bit, my receivers made some great catches, and i think that just turned the game around for us.”
Azusa quarterback John Chavez connected on three straight passes, two to Andrew Tomes and one to Abraham Ochoa, covering 62-yards of the field before Steven Blount barreled into the end zone on a 3-yard run to make it 7-6 with 6:30 in the second quarter.
Chavez finished 11 for 15 with over 200-yards passing, including a 5-yard touchdown strike to Brian Nieto which made it 21-6.
Highlighting the ground game for the Aztecs was Kendrec McDade, who posted 150- yards rushing on 14 touches and finished off three of the Aztec’s drives on short touchdown runs of 2, 5, and 6-yards
Covina (5-6,3-2) could not hold steam as they were penalized by flags and bit by the injury bug.
Livingston got hit hard by an Azusa defender after stepping into a pass and did not return to the game. The Colts never recovered. Covina was already without four starters for an altercation that broke out in the Northview game.
The Colts’ Vinny Venegas finished with 70-yards on 13 carries and back up quarterback Nick Simmons scored on a eight yard touchdown run to make the score 41-13 with just over a minute left in the game.
Azusa (10-1,6-0) advances the the second round of C.I.F for the second time in the last six years. Its a good feeling for Scherf and his team.
“At our school were not used to winning play off games, so any victory is a great victory,” said Scherf, who is now 20-2 in his two years with Azusa . “It’s a great feeling for these kids, they deserve it. They put the time in the weight room, we put the time in the coaching staff, and we got the support of the community.”
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