MidValleySports.Com

By Ron Vrooman

(Inglewood) –  The Alhambra Moors, trailing by 20 points early in the fourth quarter, rallied for a 28-27 victory over the South El Monte Eagles at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Thursday night.

Sophomore quarterback Josh Calderon led Alhambra to the win in the first-ever Alliance League game, shaking off two interceptions to complete 19 of 35 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns.

Calderon again spread the ball around to six different receivers; his leading targets were slot man Zack Chacon, who made seven catches for 58 yards, and wide receiver Steven Escobar, who hauled in four throws for 95 yards and the Moors’ final touchdown.

Running back Chris Aguilar gave Alhambra just enough of a ground attack, carrying the ball 10 times for 51 yards and the Moors’ first two scores.

Less than two minutes into the second quarter, it appeared that the Eagles were not going to be stopped.   

South El Monte drove for touchdowns on its first two possessions, with running back Fernando Freire scoring from a yard out each time. Then, cornerback Michael Maldonado, who is also the Eagles’ quarterback, intercepted a pass by Calderon and raced 67 yards for a touchdown to give South El Monte a 21-0 lead with 10:37 to go before halftime. 

Alhambra responded with a 78-yard drive for a touchdown that made the score 21-7 with 3:07 remaining before the break.

Chacon and Escobar were instrumental in setting up that touchdown, which came on a two-yard run by Aguilar. First, Chacon made two fourth-down catches, the second one being a 17-yard reception on 4th-and-17. Then, Escobar caught a 26-yard strike from Calderon that gave the Moors a 1st-and-goal at the South El Monte 2. 

Unfazed, the Eagles went 73 yards on 10 plays, scoring on a three-yard pass from Maldonado to Isaac Piceno to increase their margin to 27-7 with 24 seconds left until the intermission. However, placekicker Alexjandro Espinosa missed his extra-point try wide right, and that miss proved to be costly for South El Monte.

After taking the second-half kickoff, Alhambra drove to the Eagles’ 16-yard line, but on 2nd-and-11, Calderon was intercepted for a second time, and South El Monte took over at the 12. That turnover ended up costing the Moors only time, as their defense held with the aid of two penalties against the Eagles. 

Starting at their own 20-yard line following the Eagles’ punt, the Moors took nine plays to score on a drive that was helped along by three more penalties on South El Monte. Aguilar ran five yards for the touchdown to cut Alhambra’s deficit to 27-13 with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter.

The snap-and-hold on the Moors’ extra-point try went awry, and Calderon, who was the holder, threw incomplete in an attempt for a two-point conversion. Alhambra then tried an onside kick, which was recovered by South El Monte at its own 44-yard line.

Although they still led by 14 points at this juncture, the Eagles would be undone by three turnovers and some more fourth-down magic for Alhambra. 

Four plays after South El Monte recovered the onside kick, running back Damian Cordova fumbled; strong safety Ethan Sosa scooped up the ball and returned it 25 yards, giving the Moors possession at the Eagles’ 47.  

Six plays later, on 4th-and-9 at the Eagles’ 31, Calderon fired a long pass to wide receiver Moses Llamas, who caught it in the end zone for a touchdown. Alex Zuniga then kicked the extra point to cut South El Monte’s lead to 27-20 with 4:12 remaining.

On the ensuing kickoff to South El Monte, Zuniga booted the ball deep on a retry after the Moors went offside while attempting a second onside kick. The Eagles then took over at their own 33-yard line.

On 3rd-and-3 at the South El Monte 40, Freire gained more than enough yardage for the first down but was hit and fumbled. The ball bounced backwards to the 43, where it was recovered by Alhambra linebacker Derek Aston. 

Following three incomplete passes, the Moors hadn’t moved an inch, and they had one final chance to get the first down. On 4th-and-10, Calderon faked a throw to the left and quickly spun around to fire a screen pass to Escobar, who went all the way to make it a one-point game with 1:48 to go.

Alhambra then took its only lead of the night when running back Nathan Rabadan sprinted around the left side for the two-point conversion as his teammates feigned a run to the right.

Suddenly losing, 28-27, the Eagles started with the ball at their own 34 and drove to the Alhambra 29, thanks primarily to a 17-yard scramble by Maldonado and a pass-interference penalty on the Moors.

On first down with just over a minute left, Maldonado heaved a pass to the end zone which was intercepted by Llamas, who was in at free safety for Alhambra. Llamas returned the ball to the 11-yard line; the Moors then ran out the clock and escaped with their first Alliance League win.

Alhambra improved its overall record to 5-3, and South El Monte fell to that same mark. The Moors finished with 310 yards from scrimmage, while the Eagles gained 292 yards.

Maldonado completed 13 of 22 passes for 127 yards and ran for 56 yards in a losing cause. Freire led South El Monte in rushing with 24 carries for 111 yards.