MidValleySports.Com

West Covina HC Mike Maggiore rallies his troops to finish. (Photo by Saile Ramirez)

By Saile Ramirez

(Pomona) The West Covina Bulldogs, led by running backs Aaron Salgado and Jimmy Escoto, finished strong for a victory over the Diamond Ranch Panthers 20-14 Friday night in their Hacienda League opener.

“We want to finish any game, if we’re up by 40, down by 40 or in a tight game like this we want to finish games,” said Bulldogs Head Coach Mike Maggiore.

Late in the fourth quarter West Covina found themselves on the Diamond Ranch 47 looking to end the game. Three consecutive runs by Escoto put them in a manageable fourth and four and an opportunity to ice the game. The Bulldogs were forced to punt after a delay of game penalty pushed them back.

“We had a chance to seal the game a little bit,” said Maggiore of the late situation. “Luckily our defense made some big plays.”

D-Ranch gets ball with 1:21 to play at its own 26. After three consecutive incomplete passes Xavier Beltran is sacked by WC’s Adam Romero to ice the game.

The night’s scoring began when the Bulldog’s Escoto plowed his way into the endzone from three yards out, capping off an eight play drive.

The Panthers, behind William Bryan (26 carries, 163 yards TD), roared back with a lengthy drive where Bryan ran the ball eight times with his final touch being a 12-yard touchdown run. The game tied 7-7.

Salgado again put WestC0 in the lead, scoring a seven yard touchdown run. WC led 14-7 with 4:50 left in the second quarter.

Diamond Ranch received a huge spark from their special teams when they returned the ensuing kickoff to the Bulldog 13. From there Allen Salguero punched it in from a yard out to tie the game again at 14.

West Covina began the ensuing drive on their own 20 and 1:34 left in the half. WestCo’s Antonio “Noodles” Hull led the Bulldogs on an 80-yard drive completing four of five passes for 73 yards, including a 12-yard strike to Ryan Crosby for a 20-14 halftime lead.

Both teams where held scoreless for the rest of the game. The Panthers had a huge opportunity late in the third when they found themselves on the Bulldog six, but were unable to capitalize turning the ball over for the second time in the quarter.