MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

Covina — At first, fans at Covina District Field were set up for a shootout between the La Habra Highlanders and Northview Vikings on Friday night. Within the first four minutes of the opening quarter, both teams were able to score points when they first touched the ball. However, that quickly turned around when the Highlanders rattled off 28 straight points to close the first half and cruised to a dominant 56-21 win. 

La Habra quarterback DJ Mitchell tallied four total touchdowns, three passing and one rushing, for 208 total yards. 

“I had to bounce back after week one. We were really sluggish in the second half against Upland,” Commented Mitchell postgame. “We made sure of it this week that we wouldn’t be sluggish, and we just did our thing, executed.” 

After Jaishon Bledsoe returned La Habra’s kickoff for a touchdown, tying the game at seven at the 8:03 mark of the first quarter, the Highlanders responded with a 9-play 70-yard drive to regain the lead. Mitchell and Co. were able to maneuver down the field with ease, which set up Mitchell to break the tie with his 13-yard rushing touchdown with 2:42 remaining. 

Then, after the defense stuffed the Vikings and forced them on a quick three-and-out, Mitchell only needed one play to extend his team’s lead before the quarter ended. With the ball placed on the Viking 34-yard line, Mitchell dropped back to pass and connected with Blake Rogers running the post route, and walked into the end zone. 

La Habra started to build momentum in the second quarter when the defense forced a Northview fumble on their ensuing possession and returned it for the score thanks to Phillip Delgado’s scoop and score. Then, when the offense retained possession after another Northview punt, Mitchell tossed his second touchdown pass when he found Bryce Vasquez alone, who then took it to the house, extending the lead to 35-7 midway through the second quarter. 

Northview was able to avoid punting the ball on their next drive and managed to create a drive that would lead to points before the halftime buzzer. Quarterback Robert Lucero got the drive started when he hooked up with Isaiah Lucero, who was able to beat his man for a 40-yard gain. Two plays later, Lucero called his own number by escaping the pocket and running in for the offense’s first touchdown of the night, making the score 35-14. 

Northview wanted to go back-to-back scoring drives as they were set to receive the halftime kickoff, but those plans were thwarted when the kickoff team fumbled the kick, giving the ball back to La Habra. 

The Highlanders were able to double-dip within two minutes of game time when the Mitchell and Vasquez connection led to another touchdown after the fumble recovery. Then on the next drive, Santi Bautista Cuesta picked off Lucero’s pass and returned it for the touchdown, giving his team a 49-14 advantage with 5:04 remaining in the third quarter. 

Northview was able to swing back instantly when the offense only needed a Lucero pass of 70 yards to Isaiah Lucero for their final touchdown of the night.

Finally, with the backups in for La Habra, Freshman CJ Dickerson added the final nail in the coffin with his 3-yard touchdown run, making the final score 56-21. 

With the win, the Highlanders will look to make it three in a row next Thursday when they host Ayala. The Vikings will try to go above .500 when they travel to Glendora next Friday night.