Wildcats finish strong in 29-21 victory over JW North

Javon Major runs for a touchdown during Paloma Valley's win. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

By Paige Mendez, Correspondent

The Paloma Valley football team won its homecoming game Friday night against JW North by a final score of 29-21, marking their first league win of the season.

The Wildcats held the lead for nearly all of the game except only a few minutes in the first quarter, when they were tied 7-7. But the Huskies were chasing their score and came close to catching them a handful of times.

Most notable of those was in the fourth quarter when North scored twice in six minutes, bringing it to a potentially one-possession game.

Paloma had just given up over 15 yards in penalties inside the red zone, which gave the Huskies perfect position to run the ball into the end zone for the second of those touchdowns. Then in four short plays, North had forced a punt and had the ball at the 43-yard line.

Although they had over seven third- and fourth-down conversions in the game, the Huskies went out in four plays with under two minutes left on the clock, leaving the Wildcats with the ball at their own 37 thanks to a quarterback sack from senior linebacker Javon Major.

With just over a minute left in the game, Paloma was able to run three plays before they could let the clock roll out and take the win.

Major’s sack late in the fourth quarter was one of his many tackles for loss in the game, and on the other side of the ball, he brought in two of Paloma’s touchdowns. He ran for over 130 yards in the game against a stalwart Husky defense.

He said that’s simply a part of his role as a running back for his team.

“You never want to be tackled by the first guy,” he said. “But once the first guy misses, the second guy becomes the first, so it’s a domino effect.”

The first of the Wildcat touchdowns came from Arthur Clemons, a junior wide receiver, who caught a pass just inside the end zone on their first drive. The other Wildcat touchdown came from Colin Fleming Jr., who ran nearly 50 yards to the end zone after catching a 20-yard pass.

With an offense that has a quarterback spot filled by a few new players, head coach Juan Merida said having weapons like these three to rely on is a privilege.

“It’s definitely a good feeling to know that when these guys touch the ball they can take it to the house,” Merida said. “It’s something we haven’t had here in the past, so it’s definitely a blessing.”

Paloma had its share of penalties and miscommunications on the night, though, with 11 flags thrown to their deficit and five fumbles or interceptions.

One of those the Wildcats were able to use to their advantage -- fumbled snap on a point-after-touchdown attempt that lead to a two-point conversion thrown by junior London Jones-Marshall.

Those two extra points had a decent margin in the Wildcats’ favor, bringing the score to 29-21, but Merida said he felt like maybe they made the win a little more difficult than it needed to be.

“We just keep making it a lot harder for ourselves than it needs to be,” Merida said. “But I realize that a lot of that comes down to me picking the right plays for my team. I’m glad we just have a really gritty team and that they know our high expectations and keep working toward them.”

Paloma is now 1-1 in league and 5-2 overall. They will face Rancho Verde at home on Friday at 7 p.m. to continue league play.

Paloma Valley quarterback Orlando Gonzalez looks to pass. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

Malik Carlton reacts to a Paloma Valley sack during Friday's game. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 

Isaac Navarro threw two touchdown passes in the second half. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 Colin Fleming Jr. races into the end zone with a Wildcats touchdown. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)