Esposito: Wildcats Take Lessons Away from 27-14 Loss

A large crowd turned out to cheer on the Paloma Valley Wildcats in Friday night's home opener.

Winning every one of your nonleague games is nice, but it isn't always the best preparation for league games.

In each of the last two years, Paloma High School's football team opened the season 5-0 entering league play, winning by scores such as 61-6, 56-12 and 70-7. The numbers look good, but how much are your players developing against tough competition?

This explains why coach Bert Esposito was encouraged by much of what he saw Friday night, even though his team lost a 27-14 decision to a highly-ranked Clackamas team from Oregon.

The Wildcats' attempts to display the type of high-powered offense they have displayed in the past was thwarted by a smothering Clackamas defense that features size and experience. On defense, Paloma Valley (1-1) was stung by big plays from the visiting Cavaliers, who led from start to finish.

Could the outcome have been better for the Wildcats? Certainly. Does an experience like this better prepare them for the likes of Heritage in Sunbelt League play than a 70-7 rout? Definitely, Esposito said after the game.

"The last two years we played some (nonleague) teams that, when I scheduled them, I thought they'd be a little bit tougher," said Esposito, shown addressing his players after the game. "It didn't work out. This year I said, 'OK, let's take the next step.' So we got these guys on the schedule and we've got King next week. It's all part of the plan.

"You hope to win these games, but like I told the kids, the pressure cooker reveals your strengths and weaknesses. That team (Clackamas) is a very sound, strong football team. That's what we needed. I knew them a year ago. The team they had last year was phenomenal. They graduated 17 seniors, though. I thought maybe we could play with this group. We did, but they're very good."

The Cavaliers, ranked 13th in the state of Oregon, showed they came to California for more than the trips to the beach and amusement parks they have lined up the next two days. They came to play some tough football.

On Clackamas' first offensive possession of the game, they Cavaliers drove 46 yards to score on a 1-yard run by junior running back Josh Gay (left). The TD was set up by a 34-yard pass from quarterback Wyatt Hutchinson to wide receiver Markus Golder.

Paloma Valley's offense struggled to move the ball in the early going, and Clackamas took advantage. In the final seconds of the first quarter, the Cavaliers took a 14-0 lead with Hutchinson hit junior Cedric Brooks with a 4-yard touchdown pass.

The Wildcats drove from their own 37 to the Clackamas 25 midway through the second quarter, but quarterback Pohaku Kaheaku-Paiva was intercepted in the end zone by free safety Hayden Kirsch.

Paloma Valley cut the deficit to 14-7 when running back Demarco Prewitt turned a short pass into a 39-yard touchdown play with just 48 seconds left in the half. Any momentum the Wildcats had at that point was taken away seconds later, however, when Clackamas' Nick Gilbert returned a kickoff 98 yards for a TD and 20-7 halftime lead.

"That's his thing," Esposito said about Prewitt. "He made a lot out of nothing tonight. That's his style as a competitor."

Senior Jake Newton (right), who started the game at wideout, took over at quarterback for Pohaku in the fourth quarter, but the outcome had pretty much been decided. Esposito will accept the loss and look toward the long-term benefits of the experience against such a tough opponent.

"It was nice going 9-1 one year," Esposito said. "But I've always said I'll never go undefeated because you've got to play good teams to get better. If I ever do go undefeated, we're going to be phenomenal. That's not my point. It's to keep putting pressure on our team so they can respond and grow."

The Wildcats will have another opportunity to do that next Saturday when they play a 7 p.m. game against Martin Luther King High at Ramona High School.

Junior running back Khayrii Joyner dives one yard into the end zone for a Wildcat touchdown late in the game.