By Matt Schuler
(La Puente)- As quick as this game got started, it ended just as fast for La Puente. Paraclete, last year’s C.I.F Champion, jumped on the Warriors early and scored with six different players on their way to a 45-0 shut out in the opening round of CIF playoffs Friday night at McIntosh Field.
Quarterback Gabe Martinez completed 10 of 14 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air. Martinez finished off the first drive of the game for the Spirits with a two yard sneak and the score was 7-0 with 8:53 remaining in the first.
On the following drive Nick Barrientos picked off Garrett Hrey’s third pass of the night and then Roosevelt Davis took a simple screen pass and turned it into a 34 yard touchdown with 6:15 on the clock to make it 14-0. Davis provided over 150 total yards, rushing the ball, catching passes and returning kicks for the Spirits.
The first play of the next drive summed up the night for the Warriors when 6’2 Linebacker Todd Davis stripped the ball from a La Puente ball carrier and high stepped 15 yards into the end zone, extending the lead to 21-0 with 6:07 remaining in the first to demoralize an underdog Warrior team.
“We know were still a few years away,” said LP head Coach Brandon Roher. “We got a lot of work to do, especially in the off season.”
The Spirits scored 21 points in a span of three minutes and held a 38-0 lead at half. The team out of Lancaster is reflecting a premonition of last year’s CIF dominance, but Coach Norm Dahlia was thinking otherwise.
“Just one week at a time, that’s our schedule,” said Dahlia. “Never look past your opponent. Our whole thing is one week at a time, one team at a time and we’ll go from there.”
The second half of the game turned into prep time as both teams started using underclassmen and substitutes well before the game was finished.
The Bulldozer for LP, Justin Vargas, was limited to only 30 yards and 7 carries. Jose Perez was also held to 44 yards on 9 carries and Hrey threw only 9 passes, of which only one was completed.
La Puente, (8-3), could not establish any rhythm on offense as team captains Hrey and James Fernandez both were injured early in the game and replaced with reserves for the rest of the night.
Paraclete, (7-4), will take on Monrovia next week in a home game up in Lancaster for the second round of CIF.
Though the Warriors didn’t score, Rohrer had nothing but good things to say about his team.
“I’m very proud of my seniors,” said Rohrer. “The way they led this team to go from 1 win to 8 wins is pretty remarkable for these guys. They’re building a foundation for our future here. I’m very proud of them.”
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