LJ FB 42, Rancho Bernardo 14 - CIF D2 Semis

 

Viking back Aidan "Carolina" McGill runs on

3rd-and-6 in the second quarter, La Jolla leading

14-7, for more of his 101 yards on 18 carries

Fri., Nov. 17. (Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

It proved to be too much of Viking quarterback Jackson Diehl for host Rancho Bernardo Fri., Nov. 17, in the CIF Division 2 semifinals. Even with early rains, even in trying to hold on to the ball and run it in a rush-heavy attack for the Broncos.

Diehl, the La Jolla phenom who has passed for over 2,000 yards and run for another 1,100 yards this season, his senior year, scored over, under, around, and through first-year Head Coach Eric Weddle's overmatched team.

Tyler Roach's eighth-year squad (the Vikings now 10-2) head into the CIF finals a week from Saturday, Nov. 25, against Del Norte, which never got into the end zone and squeaked out a late 9-7 win over Point Loma on three field goals by senior Trey Coleman.

The Viking cheerleaders celebrate a Jackson Diehl-

to-Carson-Diehl TD for a 21-7 La Jolla lead

in the second quarter on a wet night

in Rancho Bernardo. The rains in the first

quarter drenched everyone and one reporter's

play-by-play paper notebook.

Diehl ran a keeper for a touchdown on La Jolla's first possession in the opening period. On the Vikings' next drive, he blasted over the far left side of the goal line from five yards out for a 14-7 lead.

In the second quarter, the senior tossed a 34-yard pass to his brother Carson for another TD. La Jolla led 21-7. The Carson brothers followed that with another Jackson-to-Carson throw into the left side of the end zone for a beautiful 14-yard completion and a dominant 28-7 advantage with five minutes left in the half.

The Broncos put up a fight, scoring twice, including a run by fullback Skye Pena from one yard out with 8.2 seconds left in the first half to set the score at 28-14.

But in the second half La Jolla and Jackson Diehl had plenty more in the tank. He ran a third keeper over with 5:17 left in the third period, now 34-14 with Evan Martin's steady PAT kick.

An injury delay of over 20 minutes near the end of the third quarter resulted when a Rancho Bernardo player went down after apparently colliding with a teammate. After several minutes and he being stabilized, an ambulance took him off the field. Both teams came onto the field to show support as he was carried into the ambulance.

Aidan "Carolina" McGill (8) and Jackson

Diehl (9) hydrate after Diehl runs in his third

QB keeper of the night with eight minutes

left in the third quarter, a 35-14 lead in hand.