By Alex A. Gonzalez
Covina — With a shot at a Hacienda league championship, the Covina Colts had to maneuver around another roadblock Friday night at Covina District Field against their Week 9 opponent, the South Hills Huskies. They did so by none other than senior quarterback Jake Duronslet, who maneuvered his way to a four-touchdown performance in the Colts 40-35 win over the Huskies.
“It feels good to be in this position and be here with my team,” said Duronslet postgame. “It comes down to the last game of the season, and I love big games, and we ready to go to war next week.”
At first, it looked like it was going to be a smooth game for Covina (8-1, 3-0) as they were able to force South Hills (4-5, 2-2) to a quick turnover on downs on their first possession of the game and then turn around and score easily when Gatsbee Gumban reached pay dirt with 6:24 in the first quarter.
But then the game got rocky for the Colts, who fell behind to their cross-town rival after the defense gave up back-to-back touchdowns.
Husky quarterback Fabian Marez tied the ball game up at seven when he punched in his rushing touchdown from a yard out. Then, on their next offensive possession, Anthony Gonzales gave South Hills the lead when he slipped between Enrique Vizcarra and Brian Evans, who opened a pathway for his 6-yard rushing touchdown with 4:44 remaining in the second quarter.
Covina’s offense then woke up on their next possession as they were able to score behind Duronslet’s first of three rushing scores of the night. The 12-play, 80-yard drive consumed all but 35 seconds of the second quarter, giving little time for the Huskies to answer back before they had to kick the ball off to start the third quarter.
The Huskies took a 14-13 lead into intermission when they blocked the Colts point after attempt.
Covina’s offense then exploded in the second half as they were able to score on their final four of five possessions in the final 24 minutes, including three straight touchdowns on the cool Friday night.
On their first-half possession, Duronslet capped a six-play drive when he connected with Kevin Perez on a 41-yard bomb to regain the lead. Then, after a South Hills punt, Gumban and Kwame Parrish took turns carrying the ball as they were able to bulldoze their way downfield to help set up Duronselt’s second rushing score of the night.
Then, as the fourth quarter started, Parrish’s 22-yard touchdown run gave the Colts a 34-14 advantage.
The Huskies did not give up despite their 20-point deficit, as they were able to carve into Covina’s lead on their next two possessions.
Tyler Arguinzoni’s 15-yard touchdown run with 6:31 left in regulation got things started for the offense, then the defense stripped Parrish on the next Colt possession, giving them the ball back 70 seconds later.
The Husky offense wasted no time as they were able to cap a six-play drive when Gonzales soared his second touchdown of the night, making the score 34-28 with 3:26 in the fourth quarter.
South Hills tried to force Covina into a second turnover, but they came to no avail when Duronselt took matters into his own hands as he optioned to keep the ball in Husky territory and score from 34 yards out, extending the lead to 40-28 with less than two minutes to play.
“It was a lot of work during the week just trying to prepare and study the coverages and how they (South Hills) were going to play us,” commented Duronselt postgame. “I let my teammates make plays, and when a play was needed, they made them.”
South Hills did make it a five-point ball game with less than a minute to play when Arguinzoni reached the end zone for the second time of the night. But their onside kick attempt fell into Covina’s hands, who then took a knee to end the ball game at 40-35.
With the win, Covina stays undefeated in the Hacienda league and will play for a league championship next Friday when they travel to Chino. South Hills will look to keep their playoff hopes alive next week when they travel to Los Altos.
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