Blythe pride and determination traveled well on Nov. 11, as the Palo Verde High School (PVHS) Yellow Jackets’ varsity football squad’s over six-hour roundtrip visit to La Jolla Country Day secured a hard-fought 27-21 CIF-San Diego Section Division IV quarterfinal win.
The victorious outing follows a hard-nosed 36-27 win over Mt. Miguel the previous week, and now sees the seventh-seed Jackets move on to face three-seed Coronado in another away-game match-up on Nov. 18.
“It was a real close game, a real exciting game, and a real fun game to be a part of,” shared Jackets varsity football head coach Wally Grant with the Times. “We started off real well; we went right down and scored, and then did extremely well on defense to start except for one play when (La Jolla’s) quarterback (Jaden Mangini [2]) became super human and broke about – I don’t know – four or five tackles, and then chucked the ball 40 yards down the field for a touchdown. And that kind of switched the momentum, because we were about ready to break their hearts right off the bat. They were struggling early on both sides of the ball, a nd then they got that break – they got some life in them. They fought us tooth and nail, to the end.”
The first quarter ended with a 14-7 lead for PV, before the Torreys came back to tie it up in the second quarter for a 14-14 box score going into halftime.
“We did a couple of silly things in terms of poor mental breakdowns; and a costly turnover. So we go in at halftime, tied up, and then we talked about what we needed to fix – and what our little adjustments needed to be. And then we came out; they went down and scored. And we responded,” shared Grant.
The third quarter again saw the close game’s score tied up at 21-21 going into the final stanza.
“Then they drove down to about the five yard line – and our defense did an unbelievable job and stuffed them in a couple of plays. Especially on a fourth down and goal. We took it over on the five yard line, with about nine minutes to go. And we went on a – I want to say a 17 or 18-play drive; and ate up about eight and a half minutes of that clock (in the fourth quarter),” shared Grant. “We had to go for it a couple of times on fourth down – and it wasn’t fourth-and-long, you know. It was a couple of fourth-and-twos, fourth-and-threes. And the kids just responded – they did an incredible job, all night. Of when things started going the wrong direction, and adversity started to show its ugly face – they rose up, stayed together, and responded in turn. And it was a fun game – it was a fun game to be a part of, and to watch (...) This is one of those games that I’ll never forget.”
The showdown against the Torreys also saw Jackets team captain and senior all-around playmaker Xzavier Bejarano’s (5) impactful return to play from injury.
Available statistics on MaxPreps.com note the varsity Jackets delivered four total touchdowns over La Jolla Country Day, seeing rushing led by Bejarano (5) with 140 yards on 16 carries (8.8 average) followed by PV senior student-athlete Jonathan Crowe (22) with 132 on 15 carries (8.8 average); Markus Macon (2) with 118 on 14 carries (8.4); and Matthew Robertson (10) with 16 on 3 carries (5.3 average).
Total team rushing yards for PV were 406 on 48 carries (8.5 average).
“It was good for (Xzavier [5]); it was good for us, and the outcome showed it,” shared Grant, underlining the importance of the team effort. “All of our kids; it’s all 11 of them. Because it starts up front – with those guys. And then, you won’t ever hear me tell X(zavier [5]), or (Jonathan Crowe [22]), or Rio (Albanez [7]), or Markus (Macon[2]), that ‘Hey, this is your week.’ Because I don’t know who the other coaching staffs’ gameplanning to stop. They gameplan to stop one of our kids – and last week, it was Markus. How they put a couple of their kids on the opposite side to try to slow him down. And then all the kids in the middle, to try and slow (Jonathan) down. Friday night, it was – as great as X and Markus are – we finally got to see what (Jonathan) can do when they focus on the other two, and not on him. He had a heck of a night – that last drive? You know, they put all their chips on stopping our wings. And left (Jonathan) open up the middle. That last drive, I think it was six of his carries that took us to the promised land.”
On defense, Macon (2) led the Jackets’ tackles with 8 (6 solo; 2 assists) this week, followed by Landon Salazar (6), Ian Maciel (15), and Crowe (22) with 6 each; Bejarano (5) and Albanez (7) with 4; Robertson (10), Kyle Rivas (72), Gabriel Dagnino (12), Erico Ramirez (3), Parker Loureiro (27), and Ty Phipps (11) with 2 each; and Jaydon Castillo (9) with 1.
Team tackles totaled 47 against La Jolla Country Day, with 32 solo and 15 assists.
Notably, Crowe’s (22) play on both sides of the ball also saw the senior lead PV with three sacks – hitting the Torreys with 29 yards lost – and four hurries, followed by Maciel (15) with 1.5 sacks and Loureiro with .5.
“Like I said, I’ve got 30 kids that are just unbelievable kids. But I’ve got a couple of kids that – when they do what they’re supposed to do, they can change the outcome of a game. And (Crowe [22]) is one of them,” noted Grant.
Along with the 15 carries for 132 yards (32 long) to go with a touchdown, Crowe’s (22) three additional sacks also included a forced fumble on the night.
“(La Jolla) did everything that we practiced on. And that’s a young team – I think they only have like five seniors on that team. It’s (a) team that’s in Division IV that really isn’t a Division IV team; they’re a Division III, borderline-II. They’re good athletes, they’re well coached. Just like Mt. Miguel – they’ve got some athletes. If we don’t contain them, they can change the outcome of a game,” shared Grant. “(Our) kids have started to figure out over the last couple of years to not get caught up in all the ebbs and flows of a 40-minute football game – and (to) focus on what they’re supposed to be coached on. And, unfortunately, in the last couple of games – early on – we’ve kinda gotten lost in the moment and haven’t stayed focused on our tasks. And then we settle down, do what we’re coached to do – and the kids respond the way they’re supposed to respond. And it just changes what’s going on – they impose their will, and start breaking the other teams’ hearts.”
With the 11th straight Jackets’ win, PV next eyes the 7-3 Coronado Islanders for a CIF-San Diego Section Division IV semifinal showdown.
On the other side of the bracket, Fallbrook will face Mission Bay.
“Here we are, this little public high school of 800 some-odd kids out in the middle of the Mojave Desert and we’re playing all these big time Division IV teams. And just like last year – no one talked about us. But now, all of a sudden, we’re back in the semis. And everyone’s like, ‘What is going on out there in Blythe?’ And I love it,” said Grant. “I’m just extremely proud of what this program is doing.”
For confirmed up-to-date schedules (“subject to change at any time”), dates, and times, visit the official PVHS Athletics’ calendar online at:
Also be sure to check out the PVHS Buzz Newspaper’s social media page for updates:
