Jags in frustrating 16-10 loss to San Pasqual




Oh man, if only Valley Center High could finish. Then, the trajectory of their season would be on a totally different arc. Their reality would be in sharp contrast to what it is today.

The cold, hard fact is this; the Jaguars could quite easily be undefeated at this stage instead of having to satisfy themselves with a 3 and 3 record that could have been much better. Friday night’s gut-wrenching 16-10 loss to host San Pasqual was the third time this year that the Jags had victory in their grasp and couldn’t put the squeeze on it. Unlike on the first two occasions, this time it was the offense that just couldn’t close the deal.

It was late in the fourth quarter, with time winding down. After having impressively maneuvered 66 yards downfield, the Jags found themselves knocking on the door, with a first-and-goal situation from the San Pasqual 5-yard line. VC was riding a wave of momentum and seemed destined to score. Their fans were up on their feet, their cheers rising in intensity, a sense of anticipation filling the unseasonably warm night air. But a mix up in the backfield resulted in a first down loss and then, three straight Rhett Riley passes fell incomplete, the last of which was intended for tight end Steven Much right at the goal line.

The Jag sideline noticeably sagged when this last-ditch attempt failed. What added even more to VC’s pain was that Much was blatantly held. A video replay clearly showed that the Jag receiver was the victim of a mugging worthy of a New York hood. How in the world the officials missed such a brazen infraction was mystifying. But no penalty was called, no flag was thrown. And so, for all intents and purposes, the Jags were done.

Defeats are rarely more exasperating than this one. After a sluggish 24 minutes in which VC could generate only 83 yards, the offense came out after intermission with a sense of purpose and urgency. Ignited by a passel of big plays, the Jags reached the Golden Eagle 15-yard line or better on four second-half possessions. But alas, their red zone production was minimal, scoring only a touchdown and field goal off these deep penetrations into San Pasqual territory. One sensed that VC was leaving too many points on the field and that it might end up biting them in the butt. And that’s exactly what happened.

If not for some splendid play by VC’s defense, the Jags could have been looking up at something much more substantial than the 9-0 halftime deficit they took to the locker room. For example, after Nieko Hernandez had the ball jarred loose while attempting to secure a punt, a Golden Eagle recovery put the home team in prime position at the VC 20-yard line. But the Jag defense dug in and hunkered down. Christian Patstone, who had a huge night that included a sack and some crucial tackles, made a big stop that resulted in a loss. Daniel Belcher then stuffed a run. And after a short completion, the Jags rallied to the ball and forced a fumble that was collected by an alert John Cabrera. It was a gutsy stand that, at the time, kept the game scoreless.

The Jag “D” was still getting it done well into the second quarter before it was victimized by some microwave offense by San Pasqual. Sweeping to his left, running back Daniel Lovato quickly got to the perimeter where the Jags had lost containment. Showing plenty of speed and acceleration, Lovato raced down the near sideline where he easily outdistanced defensive back Mikey Ibarra, the last Jag with any shot at the now flying Golden Eagle. The result was an electrifying 52-yard touchdown burst that staked the hosts to a 6-0 lead at the 8.01 mark of the second stanza. The score stayed that way when a mishandled snap doomed the PAT attempt.

Less than six minutes later, the Golden Eagles extended their margin to 9-0 when after a short drive, Alan Valdavinos wowed the crowd with a 42-yard field that was powerfully struck and had plenty of carry to it.

The lone threat that the Jags generated in the first half came on their third possession when they marched from their own 17-yard line, all the way down to the San Pasqual 27. This advance was mainly built off the rushing of a determined Jake Newman, who fought hard for extra yardage and showed some nifty moves while breaking off runs of 15 and 11 yards. Faced with a fourth-and-two situation, the Jags elected to go for it and once more turned to the guy who had laid most of the previous groundwork. But Newman was stoned at the line by Golden Eagle defenders Cole Hardan and Morgan Harris and stopped for no gain. What made this play even more pivotal was that Lovato’s dramatic scoring scamper came just three plays after Newman was thwarted.

The Jags seemed more energized and juiced when they came out for the third quarter. After a Hernandez kickoff return positioned them at their own 25-yard line, Reilly quickly went to work. After hooking up with H-back Brock Moffitt on a 13-yard aerial, the lefty signal caller was itching to go deep. After a smooth roll out to his right, Reilly spied Gabe DePaolo down the sideline and uncorked a lengthy heave. DePaolo had shaken loose of the coverage and was wide open. He gathered in Reilly’s throw, cut sharply to his left and tacked on some yards after the catch before he was finally pulled down at the San Pasqual 6-yard line. But in what was to be a repeating pattern, the Jags couldn’t take full advantage of this golden opportunity. The next three plays netted just a single yard and so the Jags were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal from Rod Rodriquez. VC was finally on the board at 9-3 but there was little solace in that fact, knowing that this chance hadn’t been maximized.

Moments later, the Jags forced a fumble that was recovered by Aidan Bound at the enemy 22-yard line but they quickly went four-and-out.

On their next possession, VC again probed deep. From midfield, Reilly lofted a toss down the left sideline. While being harassed by tight coverage that seemingly had him blanketed, the acrobatic Hernandez reached into the night and wrested the ball away from a defender who was right in his grill. The result was a spectacular 35-yard grab that placed VC in tight at the 15. But alas, the next three plays produced nothing and when Rodriquez’s 32-yard field goal attempt struck the right upright, the Jags’ frustration level began to mount. Another opportunity had been frittered away.

Then early in the final quarter, San Pasqual used some trickery to pad its’ lead. Faced with a fourth-and-13 situation, Ben Lozada didn’t kick, but rather ran out of punt formation. It was a 30-yard dash that caught the Jags unaware and gave the Golden Eagles a huge lift. On the very next play, quarterback Aldair Valle dropped back from the VC 39-yard line. Executing a superb play-fake that got the Jag secondary to bite, Valle launched a picturesque spiral towards receiver Dustin Kopf, who was so wide open it was scary. Kopf’s scoring catch and a Valdavinos conversion put San Pasqual up 16-3.

Realizing that the game was slipping away, the Jags wasted little time in responding. In just over three minutes, they traversed 80 yards in a mere seven plays. Again it was Hernandez who provided the pizzazz on this lengthy sortie. To begin with, the Jag playmaker got free behind a San Pasqual defensive back before embracing a 36-yard pitch from Reilly. Nieko then finished things off when he found room in the left corner of the end zone and latched onto a perfectly thrown Reilly toss. This 10-yard paydirt strike and a subsequent Rodriquez PAT drew the Jags closer at 16-10 with better than eight minutes left. There was still plenty of time left to pull this game out of the fire.

But it wasn’t to be. The Jags just couldn’t finish off their aforementioned final thrust near game’s end. As a result, they were forced to absorb yet another dismaying defeat.

Despite the setback, VC had plenty of players who distinguished themselves on this heartbreaking night. Reilly maxed out on his 14 completions and threw for 248 yards. Hernandez and Brock Moffitt each snared five passes and were huge in the passing game.

And then there were the many defenders who shined. Christian Patstone’s heroics have already been detailed. Manny Perez did some good work along the line. Moffitt again was a force at linebacker, his remarkable anticipation of the pitch play of particular note. Andrew Navarro delivered some big hits and covered well. Defensive back Mikey Ibarra had his best outing of the year that included a leaping, stretching interception. Aside from his fumble recovery, John Cabrera showed that he can cover and tackle. And both Emiliano Avalos and Robert Spielberger made some key plays.

On balance, it was an admirable defensive effort but the Jags just didn’t get quite enough out of their offense. Too many potential points weren’t cultivated and in the end, that spelled the difference.

Having lost their Valley League opener to San Pasqual, the Jags can ill afford another setback in league completion. In what could be considered a virtual must game, VC will play its third consecutive road tilt at Fallbrook this Friday night. In this up-and-down season, the Jags have previously demonstrated they can bounce back from a defeat. It’s imperative that they do so again.

Oh, if only the Jags had been to able to close. How different this game and this season would look!



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