By Alex A. Gonzalez
Glendora — Glendora’s run at a CIF-SS Division 6 championship came up short Saturday night against Murrieta Mesa at Citrus College as the Rams’ defense bullied the Tartans in their 17-7 loss.
Daniel Richie scored two rushing touchdowns and picked off a pass in the end zone for the Rams as they are crowned champions in front of a rowdy crowd.
“It feels amazing, you know,” said Richie after the game. “God did it all for us. It was a great game.”
Glendora struggled throughout the night as they could not get anything going offensively when they were held scoreless in the first quarter. Of the three drives in the first 12 minutes of play, two possessions ended with punts, and the third ended with a turnover when Austin Coronado fumbled the ball away with 1:49.
The Rams were able to build a 10-0 advantage in the quarter when they got their first points behind Alex Krishan’s 34-yard field goal on their opening possession, and then Richie added the game’s first touchdown when he reached pay dirt from 14 yards out.
Coronado made up for his turnover early in the second quarter when he kept both hands on the ball as he plowed through the Ram’s defense for the 15-yard touchdown.
But that was the closest the Tartans got as they were forced to punt on their final three possessions of the first half. Quarterback Sebastian Lawrence, who threw the game-winning pass against Dana Hills last Friday, was constantly pressured and was sacked twice. He completed 7-19 passing for 74 yards.
The final 24 minutes of play was the same for Glendora as their offense tried to establish the running game with Simon Zwick, but his 86 yards on 20 carries during the night was not enough.
The special teams for the Tartans did have an attempt at making it a one-possession score after Richie scored his second touchdown of the night, but Hunter Lemos’ 38-yard field goal attempt was wide left, and the score remained 17-7 for the remainder of the night.
Glendora finished the season 9-5 overall while Murrieta Mesa ended the season 10-4 and as CIF Division 6 Champions.
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