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| Vike QB Diego Solis ready to go back in the game in the first quarter. (Photos by Ed Piper) |
La Jolla's "miracle" comeback 13-10 win at home over Scripps Ranch Sept. 14, after Max Smith lunged across the line to snatch the ball away in the midst of the Falcons' pro-forma "victory formation", was a season-salvager for the Vikings.
Had the struggling Vikes lost this one, as it surely looked like it would with 51.7 seconds left and the visitors regaining the ball after an interception at the Falcon 31-yard line, they would have fallen to 1-4 on the season.
A bye week comes next week, Sept. 21, then Eastern League play starts at Morse High Sept. 28.
The four-loss hole potentially would have gotten deeper and deeper, with the morale of Coach Tyler Roach's team crashing on the straits of collapse.
Instead, backup quarterback Diego Solis' strike to Smith on the play immediately following Smith's stunning takeaway to secure the ball for La Jolla led to a fantastical 13-10 win, and thereby, a 2-3 record--which isn't great, but it's a lot better than 1-4. And, it's a start.
I ran into Timmy Holdgrafer's (the former Viking CIF Player of the Year pitcher/hitter) dad at Costco today (Sept. 15), and he had left the game before the end. He was surprised, and pleased, to hear the result. What a finish. I'm trying to find more superlatives besides "unbelievable", "stunning", "miraculous", "fantastical".
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| Safety Finn Rice, who garnered nine tackles against the Falcons. |
How about "extra-terrestrial"? "Otherworldly?" Simply amazing.
Smith, only a sophomore and already one of the team's four captains, continued to involve himself wherever he was planted. Coming into this season, he was a quantity tackler at middle linebacker. (He had 15 tackles against Scripps Ranch in preliminary statistics.) Now, he has added running back, special teams monster, and now, with last night's TD catch, receiver out of the backfield. Truly mini-LaDainian Tomlinson (as far as rushing and receiving).
Jack Wiese, linebacker deluxe as well, continued his torrid "everywhere" pace, with seven tackles. He also added the TD run in the second quarter that broke La Jolla into the scoring column after a quarter of doldrums and listlessness.
FINAL STATISTICS
TACKLES (solo-assisted-total)
Max Smith 8-6-14; 1 sack, 3 TFL, 1 fumble recovery
Jack Wiese 6-3-9; 1 TFL
Finn Rice 4-5-9; 1 interception
Langston Aron 4-1-5; 1 sack, 2 TFL
Aiden Trudeau 4-2-6; 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery
Gabe Solis 4-0-4
Alessandro Demoreno 2-1-3
Greg Nelson 2-1-3
Martin Jellison 1-4-5
Evan Brown 2-0-2
Nick Goehler 1-0-1
Matt Hammel 1-0-1
PASSING
Diego Solis 10-22-116 yards; 1 TD, 3 interceptions; long 31 yards
Scripps Ranch 14-27-148 yards; 1 interception; long 25 yards
RUSHING
Max Smith 12-63 yards; long 33 yards
Diego Solis 13-26 yards; long 20 yards
Greg Nelson 1-3 yards
Jack Wiese 1-3 yards; 1 TD
Scripps Ranch 42-107 yards; 1 TD, 2 fumbles; long 16 yards
RECEIVING
Gabe Solis 4-41 yards; long 12 yards
Max Smith 2-42 yards; 1 TD; long 31 yards
Cooper McNally 2-26 yards; long 13 yards
Phillip Pacleb 1-6 yards
Finn Rice 1-1 yard
Scripps Ranch 14-148 yards; long 25 yards
KICKOFFS
Nick Goehler 3-159 yards; 53.0 avg; 1 touchback
TEAM TOTALS
Total plays LJ-50 SR-71
Total yards LJ-211 SR-255
Passing yards LJ-116 SR-148
Rushing yards LJ-95 SR-107
First downs LJ-13 SR-16
Third Down Efficiency LJ 4-11 SR 4-14
Fourth Down Efficiency LJ 0-2 SR 2-4
Turnovers LJ-3 SR-3
Fumbles lost LJ-0 SR-2
Interceptions LJ-3 SR-1
Penalties LJ-3 SR-2
Penalty yards LJ-25 SR-10
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