MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

Covina: Keanu Tauvao scored three touchdowns, tallying 140 yards on 15 carries, and Erik Jimenez added a passing touchdown in the Vikings 36-0 blowout win over cross-town rival South Hills on a cool Thursday night at Covina District Field. 

“You know, we came out a little flat, you know? We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, but we’re Vikings,” said Tauvao post-game. We will do whatever we can to get that win at the end of the day.” 

Northview’s offense went straight to work to start the game, as they only needed five plays to score the first touchdown. Tauvao’s 26-yard touchdown run came on his third carry of the night with 9:41 left in the first quarter. 

That touchdown, however, was the only touchdown between the two teams for the remainder of the first quarter and almost the second. Both the Vikings and Huskies exchanged punts and turnovers on downs, halting drives.  

South Hills’ offense showed signs of struggles early. They committed mental errors and came up empty on drives when they would go for it on fourth down. Husky quarterback Fabian Marez came up empty on two of the five possessions when he failed to complete his passes on fourth down. 

For the other three of South Hills five possessions, the unit punted twice, and the fifth was ended by the half-time buzzer.

Unlike the Huskies, who could not find the endzone, Tauvao punched in his second touchdown of the night when he took the handoff and scampered his way into the end zone for six from nine yards out, giving his team a two-score advantage before the break.  

Following the break, and after another failed attempt on fourth down by the Huskies, Northview made it a three-score lead once Tauvao added his final touchdown from 50 yards out midway through the third quarter. 

“I’m so proud of my offensive line and defensive line. They part that line like the Red Sea,” commented Tauvao about his blocking. 

Then, the offense shut the door on South Hills on their next possession when Jimenez connected with Isaiah Lucero, running the receiver screen and taking it to the house for the 57-yard touchdown score. After a successful 2-point conversion, the Vikings held a 29-0 lead with 2:13 remaining in the third period.

Once backup tailback Dominic Munoz scored his first touchdown of the night, making the score 36-0 as the fourth quarter started, a running clock was instituted. 

With the win, Northview will host Glendora next Saturday, and South Hills will look to go above .500 when they host St. Genevieve next Friday night.