Mikey Vasquez gave all he had but Knights come up a little short.
(El Monte) The Arroyo Knights let an early 24-6 lead slip away and ultimately fell to the Whittier Christian Heralds 27-24 in first round play of the Mid Valley Division playoffs.
Prior to the game Arroyo head coach Jim Singiser commented about what the Knight coaching staff saw on film of the Heralds. “They have good size for a team in the Mid Valley Division and have some speed. They are coached well and don’t make mistakes.”
It was two mistakes by Whittier Christian however that Arroyo capitalized on to take an early 14-0 lead.
After an Arroyo punt, the Heralds lined up for their first offensive play of the evening. From the spread formation, the snap went over the head of Whittier Christian quarterback Stephen Anderson. A scramble ensued for the ball and when everything settled, the Knights Sam Torres had fallen on the ball at the Herald one yard line.
One play later, Mikey Vasquez hurdled Herald defenders for his first score on the night.
The ensuing kickoff from Rogelio Sotelo sailed into the end zone and Whittier Christian set up their second offensive series from their own 20.
On the Heralds first play to start their second drive, Anderson failed to get the pitch to Garrett Fullbright and the ball was loose again. This time it was Javier Lozano who pounced on the ball to give Arroyo a first and ten at the Whittier Christian 17-yard line.
Two plays later Steven Rivera found Vasquez out of the backfield and Vasquez did the rest on a 13-yard score to put the Knights up 14-0 with only 3:22 gone in the first quarter. Rivera finished the evening with 204-yards and two scores passing.
The Heralds righted their ship and midway through the first frame and put together a 10-play 73-yard drive that culminated on a 19-yard Cody Stewart reception from Anderson. The extra point was blocked but the Heralds were on the board.
Lightning struck for Arroyo on their next possession. Rivera took the snap and looked deep down the middle for Chris Rodriguez. Rodriguez grabbed the ball out of the air and out ran the Whittier Christian defenders to pay dirt. Rivera just got the ball away as the Heralds George Flynn came off the corner looking to nail Rivera from the blindside.
Early in the second period the Knights extended their lead to 18 on a 24-yard field goal from Sotelo and Arroyo seemed to be in the driver’s seat.
The tide of momentum turned towards the Heralds late in the first half. Whittier Christian scored two more times before the clock ran out. Both scores were set up on special teams.
A short punt by the Knight’s Jeff Salazar and a blocked punt by Whittier Christian’s Jeff Worthy gave the Heralds great field position and they capitalized.
With ten seconds remaining in the half, Daniel Chacon who came on for the injured Anderson, found Grant Escobar from 14-yards and put the second of two scores on the board only a minute apart. The previous score was turned in by Fullbright.
The two teams battled for much of the third quarter with neither team putting together sustained drives.
An interception of Chacon by Mike Amaya at the Arroyo one yard line stopped a drive by the Heralds but the relief was only temporary.
Forced to start drive from deep in their own end of the field, the Knights failed to get a first down and Salazar was forced to punt from deep in his own end zone. The punt was returned by Whittier Christian’s Grant Escobar to the Arroyo 37 setting up the go ahead score.
The final blow came on the legs of Fullbright and his second touchdown of the contest with 5:23 left in the third. The going was made tough by he Knight defense but Fullbright ground his way to 111-yards on 33 carries.
Not to be lost in the disappointing evening for Arroyo was the play of Vasquez. The junior running back was solid as well with 101-yards and a touchdown on the ground and the score through the air. Fans on the Whittier Christian side also acknowledged the play of Vasquez shouting their praise for his performance.
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