MidValleySports.Com

Frankie Palmer leads the Lancer battleship!

(Whittier) Bryce Oliver score on a three yard run with 2:39 left in the fourth quarter and the Lancers held on to beat the Bear Cats 27-20 Friday night at Whittier District Field.

The Lancers (3-0) got on the board first with 3:30 seconds left in the opening frame. Bonita, deep in their own end of the field were forced to punt and La Serna’s Joshua Aguirre knifed his way through to block the punt. After a scramble for the ball, the Lancers were set up deep in Bearcat territory. The drive stalled and the Lancers had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Tavis Guerra.

Bonita (0-3) took the ensuing drive and marched 77-yards on seven plays with Reggie Turner getting into the endzone for the first time on the evening. The point after from Brandt Davis missed by the Bearcats had the early lead.

With 7:30 left in the first half, Bonita lit up the scoreboard again this time only needing two plays to travel 69-yards. Tanner Deibold scrambled right and found a wide open Christian Ramos who out raced the Lancers to the endzone. Davis tacked on the extra point to extend the Bearcat lead to 10.

Bonita seemed to have some luck starting at their own 31. After a La Serna punt gave them the ball back just past the midway point in the second quarter, Turner got loose again this time on a 69-yard burst to paydirt. Turner finished the evening gaining 147-yards on 14 carries with the two scores. Up 20-3 the Bearcats seem in total control of the game.

The Lancers luck changed as time was winding down in the first half. Down 17 and in need of a something to change the pace of the game, La Serna got just that when defensive lineman Isaiah Osorio stepped in front of a Deibold pass in Bearcat territory and returned it to the Bonita 20. Eight plays later Frankie Palmer found Matthew Rosales in the corner of the endzone for a six yard score. Guerra added the extra point to cut the lead to 10.

“It seems like we have been only playing one half of football these past couple of weeks and dig ourselves a hole. We can’t afford to keep doing that. Especially with the next two teams we play” head coach Margarito Beltran stated after the game.

The second half was the Lancers half as they opened the scoring with a 46-yard field goal from Guerra with 8:25 left in the third period.

A controversial call set the Lancers up for the tying score. Bonita’s Angel Verdugo caught a short pass from Deibold and headed up field. It appeared to the Bearcat faithful that Verdugo’s forward progress was stopped and he was down. The ball manged to get loose and was recover by La Serna at the Bonita 34. Six plays later Luke Gonzales scored on a two yard run. Guerra’s point after was good and the game was tied.

To go along with the controversy was tragedy. With 7:48 left in the final frame, Bonita’s Breden Smith got caught in a scrum of players near the La Serna sideline. When the play was over Smith lay on the field in obvious pain. He had suffered a broken leg. The Mid Valley’s prayers go out to Smith for a speedy recovery.

After the delay to attend to Smith, the Lancers completed the comeback when Bryce Oliver scored on a three yard run.

La Serna goes on the road next week to do battle with Westlake while Bonita travels to Claremont.