MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

SAN DIMAS — The San Dimas Saints running back trio of Brian Jackson, Brian Freeland, and Caleb Morquecho combined for 242 yards on the ground and one touchdown Friday night in their 13-0 win over West Covina in their first-round matchup in the Division 9 CIF playoffs.

“It feels great. We worked hard all week in practice, and we knew what they were going to bring, and we played San Dimas football,” said Jackson postgame. “We knew they were going to bring it, and we had to run hard every time.”

The Saints (7-4)(2-1) relied on their ground game on the brisk night early and often between the Bulldogs (5-6)(2-1) as they opened the game with an 11-play drive that would lead them to their first score of the night.

Of those 11 plays, only three were passing attempts, while the rest were on the ground, with Freeland, Jackson, and Morquecho each getting a carry. Jackson’s 7-yard run capped the drive midway through the first quarter, but after the missed PAT, the Saints had a 6-0 advantage over West Covina.

The Bulldogs tried to answer back on their opening possession by relying on their backfield trio of Zach Requena, Thomas White, and Mikey Reyes, as all three backs carried the ball on their first drive. Unfortunately, their drive was stalled when Requena fumbled the ball away into San Dimas’ possession with 1:27 left in the opening quarter.

After a series of back-to-back punts by both offenses, the Saints went back to work as they compiled their longest drive of the night by marching down the field in 17 plays. This time, quarterback Jacob Gonzalez capped off the drive when he decided to keep the ball to himself as he beat the defense to the end zone.

The Saints took their 13-0 lead into intermission, and from there, they relied upon their defense to close the night for the remainder of the second half.

Saint defensive back Troy Mejia picked off Chris Perez, and Kingston Curtis led the Saints’ defense with two sacks.

Although West Covina had possession of the ball the longest, the Bulldogs time in the final 24 minutes resulted in no points. Their 33 plays of offense almost doubled the number of plays the Saints had.

They were held to 125 rushing yards as a team, and 81 yards were gained through the air. That also makes it back-to-back weeks that the offense failed to generate any points.

“It gives us confidence. We are a young football team. I thought the whole team did a great job the third phase of the season, you know,” said Head Coach Mark Holman. “The team wanted to be physical, not just up front but everybody. This was a physical game, and West Covina is a physical team, and we knew we had to come in, and I think everyone just answered the call.”