MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

Covina: The Covina Colts offense exploded for 28 points in the first half against the California Condors at Covina District Field Friday night and showed no signs of slowing down en route to a 42-0 win to start the 2023 season. Colts’ quarterback Jake Duronslet tossed three touchdown passes and rushed for another for a combined 205 total yards. 

“It felt real good to be back out here and playing again. It was a long offseason of just hard work with my teammates,” said Duronslet postgame. “I’ve been waiting since the Baldwin Park loss to come back out here and show everybody we’re a new team.” 

Covina could have spent more time on their first drive, as the unit only needed six plays to score the game’s first touchdown. With the ball placed on the 31-yard line Joseph Rangel took the handoff, made a few defenders miss their tackles as he darted for the goal line.

With no answer from Cal on its first possession of the night, the Colts went back to work on offense behind the dual-threat quarterback of Duronslet. The senior quarterback completed all three of his passes for a total of 44 yards, and once they got to the four-yard line, he used his feet to reach pay dirt for the game’s second touchdown with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter. 

The Condors tried to answer back following the touchdown. Still quarterback Daniel Torres was under consent pressure by the Colts front four, giving him no time to find his favorite target in Jeremiah Johnson.

After another punt by Cal, Covina only needed 11 seconds to light up the scoreboard for the third time of the night. With a clean pocket, Duronslet connected with a wide-open Adrian Rachal, who took it to the house from 52 yards out. The two hooked up again before intermission pushing the score to 28-0. 

As the second half started, the Condors’ offensive struggles continued. Running back Nicholas Reza struggled to get the ground game going as he was constantly met at the scrimmage line by Covina’s interior line. It was the same story for Torres as he struggled to find an open target.

“It’s nothing new to me,” commented Duronslet when discussing his defense. “They do that all the time at practice. They give us problems like that all the time. 

Covina’s offensive attack also slowed down, but they still added two more scores before the final buzzer. Duronslet and Rachal hooked up for the third time, and Jacob Perez had the game’s final score during a running clock.