By Ed Piper, Jr.
La Jolla defensive line coach Bilal Watkins was greeted in the parking lot at Montgomery High School a couple of hours prior to the Vikings' football game.
"You guys are picked to win the City League," he was reminded.
Watkins' response: "That's because of the defense."
The Vikings' defense does have several returners, which seniors Nick Hammel and Daniel McColl both pointed out before the game.
McColl racked up three solo tackles and eight assists in the contest, while Hammel was credited with one solo tackle and two assisted tackles.
Johnathan O'Neal, a junior playing on special teams, had two blocked punts in the 43-0 swamping of the Aztecs. With La Jolla leading 14-0 in the second quarter and just beginning to roll after a shaky start, O'Neal rushed in from the left side to block the attempt.
The Vikings took over on Montgomery's seven-yard line, first and goal, and Alex Dockery was able to amble over on the first play from scrimmage. That made it 21-0, 2:42 left in the half.
Said a smiling O'Neal, "The wing on my side was shifted over to the left, so I had a clear path." He made it sound easy, which he made it look.
Juiced by his success, O'Neal soon after returned a punt for 42 yards, adding to the Vikings' momentum.
In the third quarter, number 13 was at it again. With 3:40 on the clock, he sneaked in, again from the left, and kind of knelt as he came close to the Aztecs' punter. From that position, he continued his momentum, reached out and put his hands in the ball's path before it could propel into the air.
"It was a late snap, so I slid so I wouldn't rough the kicker," explained the hound of heaven. By this time, his smile was getting to be wider, as were all the Vikings', now leading 30-0.
Teammate Austin Rust, apparently inspired by O'Neal's antics, followed up less than a minute later by recovering a punt that Montgomery fumbled after La Jolla couldn't capitalize on O'Neal's second blocked punt.
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