Paloma loses rematch with King, eliminated from playoffs

Paloma Valley defenders Steven Bradshaw (42) and Tyler Marcotte (24) take down a King player Friday night. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre

By Daniel Millhouse

Silence spoke louder than words.

In the first round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs Friday night, Paloma Valley went head-to-head with the Wolves of King High School, but lost, 45-35.

Whether it was because it was Veteran’s Day or because the price of admission jumped for the playoff game, both the players for Paloma Valley (9-2) and those in the stands were dead quiet for three quarters of the game. It even appeared that there were more fans that made the road trip from Riverside to see King play than those who showed up for Paloma Valley.

"Our band didn’t even show up," Paloma Valley coach Bert Esposito remarked. "It just didn’t feel like a playoff football game."

That’s not to say that Paloma Valley played poorly. While the crowd was able to hear a pin drop for the entire first half, Paloma still put up 21 points in the first quarter alone. The only problem was that King was able to match them score for score.

Chance Nolan hit receivers Seth Carvalho and Blake Moore for big touchdowns and Andre Kirkpatrick filled in as the starting running back for the Wildcats, scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run while dragging Wolves into the end zone with him.

But the normal bravado that Paloma Valley normally displays wasn’t there. The Wildcats defeated King earlier this season, 27-13, but it was King (4-7) that played who played unintimidated. Quarterback Bradley Kleven hit Jarrod Favors for 2 touchdown receptions and receiver Chris Venable was the beneficiary of another, tying the score at 21 at the end of the first quarter.

After surrendering the lead to King when kicker Mason Mapes hit a 30-yard field goal for the only score in the second quarter, the Wildcats were forced to dig deep within themselves to stop King.

With a new energy that the Wildcats didn’t show in the first half, they were able to swing momentum in their favor. Stephen Bradshaw fired up the defense by sacking Kleven and racking up 9 tackles in the second half alone.

Just as the Wildcats did in the first quarter, Nolan hit Moore and Carvalho for touchdown passes in the third quarter, giving Paloma a 35-24 lead.

Slowly, it began to quiet down again.

With King starting its first drive of the fourth quarter on its own 13-yard line, King fans watched in horror as a Kleven pass was deflected, ending up in Damian Torres’ hands. Torres ran the interception back for what appeared to be a touchdown.

A penalty flag was laying on the field in the area of the interception, however. Referees determined that Paloma Valley was guilty of a pass interference call, not only negating the touchdown, but also the Paloma Valley possession. Able to recover from the shock, the Wolves were able to drive the ball downfield, eventually scoring on a 47-yard touchdown pass by Kleven to Venable.

Down by 5, King decided to go for the two-point-conversion but failed, leaving the score at 35-30.

Starting the next drive with the ball at midfield, Paloma Valley was in a fourth and inches situation while on King’s 36-yard line with 6:15 left. Nolan dropped back for a pass and attempted to hit an open Moore. Unfortunately for Paloma Valley, the pass was short, bouncing before the ball could reach its target.

The Paloma Valley fans fell silent again.

Before the stunned crowd, King drove the ball 64 yards in three minutes, scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run by Cardell Walder.

King, now up 36-35, decided to go for two again, succeeding when Walder repeated his success by running the ball into the end zone and giving his team a 3-point lead.

With 2:55 left in the game, Paloma was in another fourth-down situation. This time they had the ball on their own 18, needing 10 yards to continue the drive.

Nolan found normally sure-handed Jalen Lundy wide open after he beat the coverage. Unfortunately, Lundy dropped the sure touchdown pass. Within 10 seconds, Kleven rolled left and found Joseph Osborne open for a 16-yard touchdown pass, putting King up, 45-35.

Paloma Valley would never recover, failing to score in its two final possessions in the final two and a half minutes of the game.

Venable led King with 4 receptions for 123 yards, 2 touchdown receptions, and 2 interceptions while on the defensive side of the ball. Other notable performances for King included Walder’s 24 rushing attempts for 219 yards and a touchdown and Favors’ 5 receptions including 2 touchdowns.

For Paloma Valley, Nolan was 25 for 49 with 397 yards passing and 4 touchdowns; Carvalho caught 9 passes for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns; Lundy caught 6 passes for 92 yards; Moore caught 5 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown; and Kirkpatrick ran the ball 12 times for 64 yards and a touchdown.

On the defensive side of the ball, Paloma Valley was led by Bradshaw’s 12 total tackles and a sack; Torres’ 11 tackles; and Phillip Mills’ 10 tackles.

After the game, players found it hard to leave the field for the locker room. Some were in tears, some were hugging teammates, all were nearly speechless.

"We were a very close family," junior defensive end Terrell Medina said before heading to the locker room. "We’re never going to forget this season. We’re not going to let this bring us down; we’ll just have to move on and have a great season next year. I’m sorry we couldn’t give it (a championship) to our seniors this year."

Senior linebacker Torres added, "We had a good season. We played our hearts out. It just wasn’t the outcome we were looking for. We made plays that got called back, but we kept going. I love those guys."

The normally exuberant coach Esposito was almost at a loss for words after the game.

"I love them," he said. "I love them. We fell short of our goals, but what matters more than anything is that we did everything we could. This happens. Somebody's gotta lose, somebody's gotta win. More importantly than this game is that I love those guys."

Wildcats quarterback Chance Nolan prepares to pass under pressure from a King defender Friday night. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre