By Ed Piper
La Jolla couldn't surmount a 24-0 lead it gave up to Del Norte, and succumbed in the CIF Division 2 Finals at Southwestern College, 31-15, Sat., Nov. 25.
The Vikings (10-3), carrying an eight-game win streak coming into the title game, enabled Nighthawk senior quarterback Jack Schneider and his team to a 21-0 first quarter advantage.
On their first four possessions, the Vikes fumbled the ball away twice--both leading to Del Norte (now 11-2) scores--and punted two times.
But when it counted, Coach Tyler Roach's squad met a stout Nighthawk defense that stopped La Jolla on the 13-yard line on their first possession of the second half.
Again, the juggernaut Del Norte defense stopped another La Jolla drive late in the third quarter. Coach Nick Barnett's crew then employed a 17-play, 84-yard drive drive in the fourth quarter to use up a lot of the clock and score an insurance touchdown, nailing down the victory.
Quarterback Jackson Diehl and the La Jolla offense were efficient in going 80 yards in the last 22 seconds of the first half to score as time ran out. Diehl flung a 12-yard TD pass to Hank Hansen to finally get on the scoreboard and give the Vikings some hope going into halftime.
Then, when the Vikes did get the ball late in the game, 3:34 on the clock, Jackson connected in short order with his sophomore brother Carson on a 24-yard TD reception. Hansen took a pass in for the two-point conversion, making it 31-15, with 2:01 left. But by then, it was too little, too late.
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