Paloma holds on for 24-21 win, finishes league unbeaten
Wildcats quarterback Brady Nelson sprints outside and looks for a receiver Friday night. (Staff photo) By Doug Spoon, Editor They didn’t m...
By Doug Spoon, Editor
They didn’t make it easy on themselves, but the Paloma Valley Wildcats finished off an impressive regular season with a victory Friday night as they prepare to enter the CIF playoffs as a league champion.
Stephen Gallegos rushed for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns and quarterback Brady Nelson passed for 136 yards and a TD for the Wildcats in a 24-21 victory at Lakeside. The win gave Paloma Valley a 3-0 record in the four-team Sunbelt League and an 8-2 overall record – quite a turnaround from last year’s 2-7 mark.
“It’s great to win league,” coach Zach Dilley said after the game. “It’s the first time in about 20 years that Paloma has had an undisputed league championship. We’re happy about that, but we definitely need to fix some things going into next week.”
As positive as the overall feeling was after the game, no one ignored the fact that Paloma almost let a 21-0 halftime lead get away. The difference turned out to be a 29-yard field goal that gave the Wildcats a 24-7 lead with 3:03 left in the third quarter.
It was a good thing the Wildcats had that extra cushion, because Lakeside (0-3, 3-7) was starting to put its offense together. On the next series, the Lancers drove 57 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a 1-yard dive by quarterback Rene Maldonado. The PAT kick cut Paloma’s lead to 24-14.
Things got more precarious moments later when a Paloma Valley drive stalled in Lancer territory and a 41-yard field goal attempt fell short. Lakeside then put together another long drive, marching 80 yards in 13 plays to score on another 1-yard run by Maldonado, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 24-21 with 2:24 remaining.
Paloma Valley recovered Lakeside’s onside kick but could do nothing with the ball on the next series. After a punt, Lakeside had the ball on its own 37-yard line with 1:51 remaining.
That’s when the Wildcats defense came to the rescue. After a 5-yard gain by the Lancers, the Wildcats forced an incomplete pass. Next, Jacob Hornbeak sacked Maldonado, and a group of tacklers stopped the Lakeside QB again on the next play to seal the win.
“At the end, we came through,” Dilley said. “The defense was playing well all night, then gave up some things later, but at the end they came through. We’ve been relying on defense a lot this year. It’s been pretty consistent.
“Offensively, we kind of got stopped at the end of the game, but we’ll get that fixed and be ready for the playoffs.”
Gallegos was the team’s offensive star in the first half, pushing his way through packs of defenders, sometimes needing three or four players to take him down. His first touchdown was a 2-yard run at the end of an 87-yard drive he helped to create with his powerful runs. And on the team’s next offensive series, he had consecutive runs of 10, 10 and 14 yards to help put together a 65-yard drive capped by a 37-yard TD pass from Nelson to KJ Misini.
Gallegos’ other touchdown came on a 15-yard run to give Paloma a 21-0 lead.
“We’ve gotten better through the season,” Gallegos said. “Before, we weren’t really connected, but now we’ve started to hang out with each other. We’re more of a team. Being a league champ and Menifee Bowl champion feels great.”
“Stephen just has that mentality,” Dilley said about Gallegos. “He’s a student of the game and he’s always looking to get better. He gets better every week. That’s why he’s running with such ease. He’s figuring it out.”
Brayan Cortez picks up yardage on a kickoff return in the second half Friday night. (Staff photo)
Brady Nelson keeps the ball for a nice gain against the Lakeside defense. (Staff photo)
