Crescenta Valley has too much firepower for Santa Rosa

By Joe Quinn, Correspondent

One would have hoped the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame or Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside of West Point Fame would have miraculously appeared to turn defeat into victory, but no such miracles were there for the Rangers of Santa Rosa Academy Friday night.

It was a hard-to-take loss by the Rangers to a superior Crescenta Valley opponent by a 70-0 score.

Nothing seemed to go right for the Rangers’ usually staunch defense as the Warriors rolled at will right and left and even occasionally through the air. Santa Rosa's offense showed some moments of promise and workhorse Isaac Felix moved them down the field on a couple of series. Sophomore quarterback Adam Pinard made several long pass attempts late in the game, but to no avail. The Warriors’ pass rush was as fierce as their inside line play.

As the game was getting out of reach, the Ranger coaching staff even resorted to attempts on fourth and long on two series, hoping to make something happen. One fourth-down attempt was even made while on their own 2-yard line.

It is not a mistake that the unbeaten Warriors of Crescenta Valley are ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division 10. Crescenta Valley rolled right and left at will, scoring quickly almost every time they touched the ball.

They scored on their first play from scrimmage after Santa Rosa turned it over on downs. Santa Rosa then received the kickoff and on their second play, Crescenta Valley ran back an interception 50 yards for their second score, going up 14-0 at the 7:45 mark of the first quarter. This second score coming so quickly set the tone for the night.

The Rangers were short-handed as several key players were not on the field. Missing for the second week were all-arund offensive threat Tim Marlow and defensive end Roman Wombler. Starting linemen on both sides of the ball were also not available.

Photo caption: Santa Rosa quarterback Adam Pinard looks downfield. Photo by Joe Quinn.