The West Valley Vikings were forced to settle for three points
and five first downs Saturday as the visiting Gavilan College Rams
marched past the hosts 21-3 at Westmont High School in the opener
for both squads.
Saratoga – The West Valley Vikings were forced to settle for three points and five first downs Saturday as the visiting Gavilan College Rams marched past the hosts 21-3 at Westmont High School in the opener for both squads.
Gavilan, set to oppose College of Marin Saturday at 7pm at Gilroy High to continue pre-Coast Conference action, fashioned a 7-3 halftime lead and then settled the matter with two touchdowns in the third quarter.
“Their defensive front seven did an outstanding job taking care of the running game,” said third-year West Valley head coach John Vlahos.
“Our guys upfront were manhandled some. Our inability to run the football on first down was really difficult. Gavilan also did a decent job on us on the outside, better than I thought they might do.”
Spearheaded by defensive end Roy Sims, linebackers Janall Arthur and Bradley Niles and safety Cameron Shutts, the Rams forced West Valley into 10 three-and-out series.
“We survived the heat and survived the adversity,” said Gavilan coach John Lango.
“We were in good shape, we weren’t tired,” said Arthur, whose hard tackle in the backfield set up a 38-yard touchdown run with a fumble recovery by Shutts in the final 19 seconds of the third quarter. “It seemed like they were tired. We were fine. … it’s hotter in Gilroy.”
“We fumbled a punt, then fought back by blocking a field goal,” added Lango. “Then we fumbled another punt and survived again.”
Although not found on the scoresheet, sophomore running back El Ray Henry carried the Ram offense with 118 hard-earned yards in 35 carries.
Gavilan escaped a first-quarter scare. The Vikes pounced on a Tyrone Monroe muff of a West Valley punt, putting the Rams defense back on the field at the Gavilan 16. Three plays netted just three yards. Sophomore defensive back Mike Earhart raced around the flank of the West Valley kick protection to fly into the path of place-kicker Bijan Shahmirza’s 30-yard attempt. The block sparked the Rams, who were able to eat up 8:55 of the first half with a 57-yard drive to a touchdown.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Will Kilday highlighted the scoring march by converting two third downs and one fourth down with pass completions. When Henry carried on nine of the first 14 plays of the series, Rams wide-out Guy Blightman was able to run free in the back of the endzone to snare Kilday’s seven-yard strike with 8:07 left in the half.
“Their defense was up in the box defending the run and the quarterback found me open in the back of the endzone,” Blightman, celebrating his 19th birthday, explained. “Will’s throwing hard and with confidence. He’s throwing the ball great for his first game in two years.”
West Valley retaliated with a 51-yard kick-off return by Evan Wallace to the Ram 40, then a 15-yard pass from Steve Keeley to Doug Specht to the 24. West Valley failed to convert a third down opportunity and settled for a Shahmirza boot from 33 yards out, a 7-3 score with 5:30 left in the half.
While West Valley was limited to three punts and a lost fumble in the third quarter, the Rams piled on 14 points.
Defensive lineman Leonard Pinon dove on a West Valley fumble at the Vikes 41 with 10:24 to play. Gavilan needed just three plays to take a 14-3 lead. Kilday hooked up with Blightman for 37 yards on a streak pattern to the four. Two plays later, Kilday found wide-out Shane Butcher about to be sandwiched by two linebackers at the goalline, the strong pass finding its mark for the six points as Butcher held onto the ball despite strong defensive pressure.
Redshirt soph Shutts finished the scoring when Arthur’s jarring tackle on Vike fullback Tom Delash led to a loose pigskin.
“Once the ball hit the ground and I saw it and knew I had a chance, I knew I had to scoop the ball up if I wanted to make the zone,” Shutts said. Shutts jetted down the left sideline and side-stepped a final tackler at the five before finding paydirt.
“Our goal was to dominate up front,” said Arthur. “We came out with that mentality. We knew they’d try to run the ball at us.”
Gavilan finished with a 251-139 edge in total offense. Kilday went 13-for-22 for 126 yards, with Blightman leading the receivers with five grabs for 85 yards. Gavilan punter Curtis Lilly helped the winners dominate field position with 10 boots, including three of at least 51 yards and three others of 42 or more. Place-kicker Horacio Arteaga was perfect with three PATs.
Along with limiting West Valley to 60 yards rushing on 24 plays and just 79 passing yards on 36 tries, Gavilan excelled with just three penalties for 25 yards. The lone 15-yarder was for celebrating the Shutts touchdown.
By Bob Burch Sports Writer
