By Ed Piper
David Pena, the eighth-year head coach of football at Central Union High (4-0 in league, 9-2 overall) in El Centro, talked Mon., Nov. 6, about his team and their opponents this Fri., Nov. 10, La Jolla High.
About Viking quarterback Jackson Diehl, Pena--amiable on the phone, and taking a break from class Monday morning period 2 to return a call from a reporter--said, "He's a great player. He's the best player we've faced (this year)."
So the Spartans know they have their work cut out for them.
But Pena is a veteran coach, even though his nickname is "The Rookie" for some reason. (I'll have to find out what that's about.) From the start of the conversation, he said, "Defense" is what's working for Central Union.
In the Imperial Valley, a two-hour drive from San Diego (La Jolla played there a few years ago), the people live and breathe for football. It's a major social event.
Keep in mind, Central isn't just coming into the CIF Division 2 playoffs as a joke. The Spartans won the Imperial Valley League title over such stalwarts as Brawley and Imperial.
In their first-round playoff game Fri., Nov. 3, they beat Eastlake in a squeaker, 14-13. That was no joke.
Regarding the long drive to La Jolla Friday night, Pena said, "The kids are used to it." Any time they play a team not in Imperial Valley, they have to make the long bus drive, so it isn't foreign to them.
As far as specific players, the Spartans have gone with their sophomore quarterback, Luis Jimenez, recently as he got some experience and matured, Pena said. Jimenez has completed 81 of 123 passes for 1,051 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Formerly, Pena played Jonathan Real, a senior, at QB. He has completed 44 passes in 81 attempts for 507 yards and three touchdowns.
Central is ranked seventh in Division 2, La Jolla second behind Del Norte, the number-one-ranked school.
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