Viking defensive back Carson Diehl (13) goes up
with Christian's Dylan Eads (4) and teammate
Galo Sanchez (5, behind) to nearly snag
an interception at the end of the second quarter.
The ball fell to the ground, an incomplete
pass. La Jolla led at the time, 28-13.
(Photo by Ed Piper)
By Ed PiperThere were flags galore, and in the end, La Jolla won authoritatively, 49-19, Sat., Oct. 28, over a scrappy Christian team playing out the string, going winless in the Eastern League that the Vikings clinched the title for two weeks ago.
But there was no love lost between the two schools, which have a history and a rivalry against each other. As La Jolla coach Tyler Roach said before the game, not mincing words for publication: "I can't stand them."
It became a street fight, with the lopsided score not even playing a role. The Patriots were not about to quit, even having lost two quarterbacks to injury last week. And the Vikings were intent on giving the East County private school a whooping.
The big, bad black-and-red came in with a reputation they've grown accustomed to the last half dozen games, heavily favored and headed for the Division 2 CIF playoffs with a high seed as league champions after the regular slate of games. The usual suspects shone: Jackson Diehl ran for two touchdowns and passed for three more; receiver Nick Sebro made some catches; Wyatt Boczanowski and Sawyer Moseley closed on defense.
And a guy who had never played quarterback before, junior Brady Eads, played the game of his life. He dragged Viking would-be tacklers with him down the field. He had failed to complete the one pass he tried before Saturday.
So he did what he could do best, and that was play with spirit as he ran keeper-after-keeper from the QB position against the bigger La Jollans. In the second half free-for-all, when hardly a play went without a flag being thrown, he even caught a pass from another non-quarterback, Peter Zacharzuk, a wobbly thrower himself, and ran it 54 yards.
