LJ FB 14, Central 40

Viking linebacker Langston Aron (45), in his
high school debut, has a grasp on Central
QB Deniro Osuna in a creditable overall
defensive effort by La Jolla.
(Photo by Joseph Smith)
 

By Ed Piper

Tyler Roach, La Jolla High's head football coach, made arrangements prior to the team's season opener at Central High in the Imperial Valley with a company referred by Spartan head coach David Pena to rent two giant fans to help Viking players keep their cool in the oppressive 104-degree heat.

But somebody forgot to provide the water needed for the fans to put out cooling air on the visitors' sideline during the non-league contest Friday night, August 17. Instead, all the giant fans did was blow out hot air.

That wasn't a good portent for La Jolla, as host Central capitalized on a Viking turnover to score, building a 14-0 first half lead. Then things got really ugly in the third quarter when the hosts, before a packed home crowd that enjoyed the huge pregame and halftime performance by the Spartan marching band, took two botched punts into the end zone within a 10-second span on the way to an eventual 40-14 laugher.

Aron (right), next to fellow senior
defender Kelton Colburn,
drips sweat in the 100-plus-degree
heat in El Centro.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
 

 

Roach's squad put forth a much better effort in the first half than in last Saturday's Kickoff Classic scrimmage against Imperial. The Vikings, though unable to move the ball on offense, kept the game close for two periods in putting pressure on an inconsistent Deniro Osuna, the Spartans' junior quarterback who played such a key role in last year's 21-13 Central win at La Jolla.

A bright spot for the visitors was that after starting quarterback Carsten Fehlan was removed "to be super cautious" following a blow to the helmet in the third quarter, sophomore Diego Solis led the Vikings to two touchdowns in the final quarter.

With La Jolla down 27-0, the 5'9" lefty scrambled in and around the Spartan defense, including a beautiful Michael Vick-like 24-yard run to Central's 22-yard line to start the fourth period.

After another quarterback keeper for eight yards, Solis found junior receiver Finn Rice with a five-yard strike to put the Vikings on the board with 9:34 left.

La Jolla's rented giant fans (bottom center and right)
that, lacking water, could only blow hot air
on the Vikings' efforts Fri., Aug. 17, at Central High.
(Photo by Ed Piper)

Deniro, the QB with the movie star name, carried up the middle to put the game way out of reach at 33-7.

But this time, Solis came back to connect with his older brother, senior Gabe Solis, on three completions in two separate drives, including a catch-and-run covering 67 yards on first-and-10 from the Viking 33 for a touchdown with 3:32 remaining.

The temperature was still 102 degrees midway through the debacle--the sun going down offering no respite--and La Jolla faced a long bus ride home from the valley.