Diamond Ranch quarterback Cade Miller threw for a touchdown and ran for one.
By Alex Gonzalez
(Pomona) – The Diamond Ranch Panthers took control of their destiny in league play Friday night when they outdueled visiting South Hills 31-20 at Diamond Ranch high school, giving them at least a share of the Hacienda League title.
Panther quarterback Cade Miller and D.J. Shanks combined for four touchdowns to lead the way for the Panthers.
“It feels amazing. We came up short last year, so to get this win and to have it by a big lead, it is amazing,” said Miller after the game. “We were fired up, last year we should have had them, we came up short, and we wanted our revenge.
At first, D-Ranch started slow after the offense lost a fumble on its opening drive and then allowed the Huskies to march down the field to have Steven Munoz score the game’s first touchdown.
The Panthers punched back and returned the favor when Shanks ran the ensuing kick-off back to the house, tying the game at seven midway through the first quarter.
Diamond Ranch then started to pull away after Cesar Velasquez converted his 32-yard field goal and when Miller connected with Andrew Martinez for a touchdown that put them up 17-7 with 7:44 left in the first half.
South Hills then answered back when Khalil Ail dumped his pass to Nashawn Keith, who thumped his way to the end zone, cutting the lead to three points.
The Panthers then closed out the first half with a 14-play drive that chewed up over seven minutes that eventually ended with Miller taking it into the end zone, giving D-Ranch a 24-14 lead heading to intermission.
Following the break, the game plan to keep the ball away from the Huskies continued. The Panthers opened the second half with an 11-play drive that resulted in Shanks capping the drive.
South Hills was limited to only three possessions the entire second half. With two of their drives ending with a turnover. Ali’s late touchdown pass to end the game was the only points produced in the entire 24 minutes of play.
“We picked up our run game, and we know we had to keep the ball on our side,” said Miller. “They have plenty of athletes that can damage us, so we kept the ball on our side.”
With the win, the Panthers look to complete a perfect league season when they face West Covina next Friday while South Hills and Los Altos face off next week for second place.
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