Vincent Memorial High's Carlos Zuniga runs with the ball away from a Holtville High defender Friday in Holtville. (KEVIN MARTY) |
HOLTVILLE — For the past five years the Vincent Memorial High football program has barely been a blip on the radar, but Friday night the Scots earned an upset victory that will probably go down as the biggest in recent history.
With probably just a puncher’s chance of winning, Vincent Memorial stunned Holtville High, winning 19-16, to give the Vikings their first loss in Manzanita League play.
“We had nothing to lose tonight. We knew we were going to give it everything we had,” Vincent Memorial senior Nicolas Soberanes said. “I’ve been here through the good and all the bad and this was the biggest win of my career.”
In the first quarter, the weather was a big factor as the Vikings had two fumbles that led to a Vincent Memorial 14-yard touchdown run by Soberanes to take a 7-0 lead.
In the second quarter Vincent Memorial found the end zone again on a 3-yard run by running back Alan Manriquez to take a 13-0 lead after a failed extra-point attempt.
“The early fumbles definitely shifted the momentum,” Soberanes said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game so we took every opportunity we had to convert into points and we did.”
With nearly two minutes remaining in the first half the Vikings put together a 70-yard drive that was capped by a Clay Bowler 1-yard touchdown run with no time remaining on the clock to make it a 13-7 game at halftime.
“The weather affected us a bit early in the game with the ball being all wet,” Holtville head coach Keith Smith Jr. said. “But we were able to rebound and get some points before the half.”
In the second half, the Vikings harnessed some of the late first half success and translated it into another score as quarterback Luis Espinoza connected for a 27-yard touchdown pass with Jonathan Gutierrez to take the lead, 14-13, after a successful extra point attempt.
The lead didn’t last long as the Scots took the next drive in and scored on a 2-yard run by Manriquez to make it a 19-14 ballgame.
In the fourth quarter both teams were fighting for every yard, knowing this game would come down to the wire.
Late in the fourth quarter on a fourth down and long, the Scots decided to take a safety in hopes of not giving the Vikings good field position for a late score.
The decision paid off for the Scots as the Vikings were unable to reach the end zone, giving Vincent Memorial the 19-16 win.
“I didn’t know if we were going to win this game but we all played hard and gave it our best,” Vincent Memorial junior Ricardo Mercado said. “This win feels good and it was big because it will probably get us into the playoffs.”
For the Vikings it was a tough loss but Smith knows what’s important for next week.
“Our kids came out and played hard tonight and gave everything they had,” Smith said. “We had a lot of mistakes where we didn’t execute and a lot of it is my fault. We played hard but the Vincent kids played like champions.
“Next week, we are going to be back and fired up to play for league and for that Axe.”
Holtville (7-2, 3-1 ML) will travel to play Calipatria at 7 p.m. Friday in the annual Axe Game. Calipatria and Holtville have the same record and will be playing for the league title as well.
Vincent Memorial (5-4, 2-2 ML) ends the regular season but has a high chance of getting into the CIF-San Diego Section Division V playoffs.
With probably just a puncher’s chance of winning, Vincent Memorial stunned Holtville High, winning 19-16, to give the Vikings their first loss in Manzanita League play.
“We had nothing to lose tonight. We knew we were going to give it everything we had,” Vincent Memorial senior Nicolas Soberanes said. “I’ve been here through the good and all the bad and this was the biggest win of my career.”
In the first quarter, the weather was a big factor as the Vikings had two fumbles that led to a Vincent Memorial 14-yard touchdown run by Soberanes to take a 7-0 lead.
In the second quarter Vincent Memorial found the end zone again on a 3-yard run by running back Alan Manriquez to take a 13-0 lead after a failed extra-point attempt.
“The early fumbles definitely shifted the momentum,” Soberanes said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game so we took every opportunity we had to convert into points and we did.”
With nearly two minutes remaining in the first half the Vikings put together a 70-yard drive that was capped by a Clay Bowler 1-yard touchdown run with no time remaining on the clock to make it a 13-7 game at halftime.
“The weather affected us a bit early in the game with the ball being all wet,” Holtville head coach Keith Smith Jr. said. “But we were able to rebound and get some points before the half.”
In the second half, the Vikings harnessed some of the late first half success and translated it into another score as quarterback Luis Espinoza connected for a 27-yard touchdown pass with Jonathan Gutierrez to take the lead, 14-13, after a successful extra point attempt.
The lead didn’t last long as the Scots took the next drive in and scored on a 2-yard run by Manriquez to make it a 19-14 ballgame.
In the fourth quarter both teams were fighting for every yard, knowing this game would come down to the wire.
Late in the fourth quarter on a fourth down and long, the Scots decided to take a safety in hopes of not giving the Vikings good field position for a late score.
The decision paid off for the Scots as the Vikings were unable to reach the end zone, giving Vincent Memorial the 19-16 win.
“I didn’t know if we were going to win this game but we all played hard and gave it our best,” Vincent Memorial junior Ricardo Mercado said. “This win feels good and it was big because it will probably get us into the playoffs.”
For the Vikings it was a tough loss but Smith knows what’s important for next week.
“Our kids came out and played hard tonight and gave everything they had,” Smith said. “We had a lot of mistakes where we didn’t execute and a lot of it is my fault. We played hard but the Vincent kids played like champions.
“Next week, we are going to be back and fired up to play for league and for that Axe.”
Holtville (7-2, 3-1 ML) will travel to play Calipatria at 7 p.m. Friday in the annual Axe Game. Calipatria and Holtville have the same record and will be playing for the league title as well.
Vincent Memorial (5-4, 2-2 ML) ends the regular season but has a high chance of getting into the CIF-San Diego Section Division V playoffs.
