Dupre Mendoza (Photo by Gonzo)
By Alex Gonzalez
(El Monte)— The Arroyo Knights defense pitched a shutout and returned a fumble for a touchdown in a 16-0 victory over the Rosemead Panthers Friday night at B.L. Bergstrom in the Mission Valley League opener for both schools.
Offensively the Panthers and the Knights struggled to put points on the scoreboard in the first half. Both teams failed to gain momentum while punting on every possession in the first quarter.
It wasn’t until the start of the second when Arroyo struck first. After stuffing Rosemead on a fake punt 47 seconds into the second quarter, the Knights drove down the short field taking nine plays to have Daniel Mendoza finish the drive with a 4-yard rushing score.
The Panthers bounced back with a drive of their own midway though the second quarter but Jose Ortiz failed to convert on the long field goal try before the break.
Arroyo went into the half up 6-0
Throughout the third quarter, the Knights defense bent but did not break. With 4:02 left in the third quarter, Panther wide out Justen Campbell took the slip screen pass but fumbled the ball on the Rosemead 43 yard line. Dupre Mendoza picked it up and took it back for the 57-yard score.
With less than five minutes left in regulation, Jesse Ortiz added a 27-yard field goal to put his Knights up 16-0 late in the fourth quarter.
Next week Arroyo (4-1, 1-0) travels to South El Monte to play the unbeaten Eagles. Rosemead (0-5, 0-1) heads to Mt. View.
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Arroyo Starting O-line
LT 68 Cristian Castillo
LG 65 Bryan Delao
C 77 Dominic Mendez
RG 56 Edgar Gonzalez
RT 66 Maxwell Martinez
Rosemead
LT 57 Edgar Portillo
LG 66 Leo Ramos
C 69 Daniel Perez
RG 51
RT 52 George Sevilla
Ernesto Camacho 12/21 95 yards
Steven Ocariz 22 carries 123 yards
Daniel Mendoza 10 caries 28 yards 1 TD
Alex Argueta 17/24 126 yards
Carlos Alvarez 14 carries 22 yards
Alex Argueta 4 carries 22 yards
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