Paloma Valley keeps rolling, dominates Temescal Canyon

Corey Maddox (3) ran for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns in Paloma Valley's win over Temescal Canyon Friday night. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre

By Daniel Millhouse

When your team is hit with 19 penalties for 182 yards, you don’t expect to be on the winning side of the scoreboard at the end of the game. But that didn't slow down Paloma Valley High School, which dominated the Titans of Temescal Canyon Friday night, 55-17.

Temescal Canyon (1-4-1, 0-1) actually scored first after a blocked punt by junior Chris Frey led to a 25-yard field goal by Brandon Sundquist. It would be the only time that the Titans would have the lead, however.

In what has now become normal fashion for the Wildcats, Paloma Valley (6-0, 1-0) scored on the next possession in less than 44 seconds. After big gains on the ground by Corey Maddox and Andre Kirkpatrick, quarterback Chance Nolan hit Nick Naranjo in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown pass.

After the Paloma Valley defense stopped Temescal Canyon’s attempt to control the pace via their running game, they found themselves with the ball on the 12-yard-line. On their very first play of the drive, Maddox drove the ball 88 yards for a touchdown, spinning out of one defender’s hands and breaking a couple of more tackles along the way.

This gave Paloma Valley a 14-3 lead with just under four minutes left in the first quarter.

Temescal Canyon then turned to its air game, but quickly turned over the ball when quarterback Jaden Gomez, known for his ability to scramble, threw an errant pass while under pressure. Wildcats linebacker Steven Bradshaw (left) picked it off for an interception.

"The focus all week was to contain him, don’t let him get outside, don’t let him run free because he’s real quick," said cornerback Caiser LeBoss when he was asked about his team’s plan to shut down Gomez. "Our D-ends did their job and they worked really hard."

With the ball on their own 40-yard-line, Nolan hit Seth Carvalho with a screen pass that the receiver took downfield for 48 yards. At the Titans’ 12-yard-line, Maddox rumbled in again for a 12-yard touchdown, giving Paloma Valley a 21-3 lead before the first quarter was even over.

The Wildcats didn’t ease up one bit in the second quarter. In fact, their offense came out even stronger.

Nolan hit receiver Jayden Lundy for two touchdowns of 4 and 30 yards. Kirkpatrick proved that Maddox isn’t the only strong running back the Wildcats have by scoring 2 of his own touchdowns (3, 28) in the in second quarter.

Of course, the Paloma Valley defense was hardly what you could call quiet. The defensive line kept the pressure on Gomez. This included when Gomez had to get rid of the ball early when he was flushed out of the pocket by the oncoming rush, tossing the ball to a completely open Bradshaw. This was Bradshaw’s second interception of the game, which nearly could have been returned for a touchdown if it had been a thrown a little higher. Instead, he had to drop to the ground to pick the throw.

"It was a little too low on that one, otherwise it could have been a quick six because he’s actually a good runner," Paloma Valley coach Bert Esposito said, smiling when he was asked if he thought Bradshaw could have scored a touchdown.

Up until now, Bradshaw had only 1 interception in his varsity high school football career. That came last year when he intercepted a pass off of Temescal Canyon’s Gomez.

Both teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter.

Temescal Canyon scored when Gomez was able to find Landon Lopera for a 31-yard touchdown to cut into the Paloma Valley lead, 49-10.

With 3:24 left in the third quarter, Kirkpatrick scored his third touchdown of the game on a 16-yard touchdown run that killed off what energy the Titans had left. After a missed extra point attempt, the Wildcats led 55-10.

The fourth quarter gave ample opportunity for both coaches to put in second-string players to give them the valuable playing experience that they worked so hard for.

"It’s what we’ve been doing all preseason," Coach Esposito said. "We just do what we do. It’s always hard in these type of games because in the second half you’re trying to play everybody. It’s tough."

A bad snap that sailed over the head of Paloma Valley’s reserve quarterback Landon Tutwiler was quickly smothered by Temescal Canyon’s defensive line.

The Titans took advantage of this opportunity when Gomez hit Jacob Stepanek for a 15-yard touchdown and the final score of the game.

Paloma Valley ran the clock out with their next possession to win the game.

Notable performances by the Wildcats offense included Kirkpatrick’s 9 carries for 105 yards, including 3 touchdowns and 3 receptions for 64 yards; Nolan’s 324 yards passing while completing 19 of his 27 passes, including 3 for touchdowns; and Maddox’s 8 carries for 189 yards for 2 touchdowns, all in the first half before being pulled due to a tweaked shoulder in the second quarter.

"He’s OK," Coach Esposito said after the game when asked about Maddox. "He got his shoulder stung a little bit and I said to shut it down. He had 8 carries for 189 yards. You know we got it."

On the defensive side of the ball, Bradshaw led the defense with his 2 interceptions while also tallying 4 tackles. Other top performers on defense include Damian Torres’ team-leading 7 tackles, and Titus Thomas’ sack to go along with his 3 tackles.

As a whole, the Wildcat defense only allowed 129 total yards to the Titans.

After the game, Bradshaw summed up the team's effort.

"The whole team did great -- defense, offense," he said. "It was a team effort. This is for Mama Adams. She was a big part of this team who passed away. This whole season is for her.”

The Wildcats will remain at home next week for their Homecoming game when they play host to the Lancers of Lakeside (5-1, 0-1).

When asked about how he thought his Wildcats would do the rest of the season, LeBoss answered, "Expect it. Every single game we're gonna ball out and do what we gotta do. We’re not focused on anybody else but us."

Quarterback Chance Nolan looks to pass during Paloma Valley's football game Friday night. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre