Paloma Valley Blows it Open in Second Half, 62-21

Seth Carvalho is off and running on a 93-yard touchdown pass play in the second half Friday night. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre

By Daniel Millhouse

It looked like the season home opener for the Paloma Valley High School football team would be a nail biter when the Wildcats were tied 21-21 at halftime, but they roared to life in the third quarter, scoring four touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the second half to defeat the Eagles of Valley View, 62-21, Friday night.

"I told everybody they (the press) are going to ask, ‘What’d you say at halftime, and I’m gonna say it’s confidential,’" Paloma Valley coach Bert Esposito joked after the game.

Fresh off their 55-3 victory over Rancho Buena Vista last week, the Wildcats came into Friday night’s game full of confidence. That quickly faded away when Valley View (0-2) kept hitting Paloma Valley with short, but consistent gains, resulting in the Eagles scoring the first touchdown of the game within the first three minutes.

It didn’t take long for Paloma Valley (2-0) to strike back, however. Junior quarterback Chance Nolan hit Jayden Lundy in the end zone less than two minutes later for an 8-yard touchdown pass.

Not deterred, the Eagles continued chipping away at the Wildcats with small but positive gains until sophomore quarterback Jacob Barlage aired it out for a 27-yard yard touchdown pass to receiver Anthony Thomas, putting Valley View up 14-7.

After trading a pair of touchdowns to start the second quarter, Paloma Valley tied the game up at 21 after senior running back Corey Maddox took matters into his own hands. Behind key blocks made by the offensive line, Maddox rushed the ball three consecutive times for gains of 26, 11, and 13 yards, with the final rush resulting in a touchdown with less than two minutes left to go in the half.

"I think that running back (Valley View senior Dwight Brown) really gave them what they needed to push us back and (it) kept us off balance," Coach Esposito said about the first half. "Once we changed that ... we only had the ball six minutes in the half."

Brown rushed the ball 22 times for 84 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

Coming out more determined with fire in their belly, Paloma Valley’s defensive players (left) and special teams players held Valley View scoreless for the rest of the game.

"It starts with the men up front, the D-line. They started doing their job. They started keeping the O-line off the backers and they changed the game,” linebacker Steven Bradshaw said about his team’s second-half defensive performance.

Feeding off the energy from the defense, the offense didn’t let up one bit. Nolan hit Lundy for a 7-yard touchdown pass.

On the following kickoff, Paloma Valley’s Michael Cortez stripped the ball out of kick returner Robert Heirermann’s hands. The Wildcats' Thomas Eddington was quick to pounce on the loose ball to give Paloma the ball at Valley View’s 17-yard line.

Just 31 seconds later, Maddox scored his second of three touchdowns for the night on a 5-yard run.

Less than a minute later, with the ball on their own 40-yard line on fourth down, Valley View was forced to punt. Bulldozing his way through the line, Phillip Mills of Paloma Valley blocked the punt by Heiermann. The Wildcats recovered the ball to give themselves great field position on the Eagles’ 37-yard line.

Less than a minute later, Nolan kept the ball and pushed his way into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown, giving the Wildcats a 42-21 lead.

Paloma Valley's Dylan Rodriguez knocks the ball loose from Valley View's Matt Flores. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre

Not too long afterward, the Wildcats found themselves with the ball yet again.

With 4:53 on the clock, Maddox scored for a third time on a 3-yard touchdown run and the team’s fourth touchdown in seven minutes. This gave Paloma Valley a 49-21 lead.

When asked about breaking out of the shadow of last year’s senior running backs, DeMarco Prewitt, Kayrii Joyner, and Dayday Lewis, Maddox said, "I was just being patient last year. I got a chance to shine this year and I’m trying to stay humble and I’m just going to keep playing hard."

After more stellar defense, including a fourth-down stop by Bradshaw, Paloma Valley took possession of the ball on its own 8-yard line with 1:47 left in the third.

The Wildcats still weren’t done.

With the ball on their own 7-yard line, Nolan rolled out into his own end zone to avoid the oncoming rush. He found junior Seth Carvalho open at the 30-yard line and hit the receiver with a perfect pass. Carvalho put some moves on the Valley View secondary and was gone, scoring a 93-yard touchdown.

The final nail in the coffin came in the fourth quarter when Andre Kirkpatrick scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to put his team up 62-21 after a failed point-after attempt.

Paloma Valley had touchdowns scored by five different players.

"I think that because it was a home game, the energy was more up. We’re just trying to have a perfect season and win a CIF Championship," Maddox said after the game.

There were multiple notable performances for the night by Paloma Valley players. Nolan completed 13 of his 16 passes for the night for 218 yards and 4 touchdowns. Maddox ran the ball 18 times for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns along with 1 reception for 13 yards. Blake Moore pitched in for 4 rushes for 84 yards and 2 receptions for 34 yards, including a touchdown. Lundy and Carvalho both had 5 receptions and scored a touchdown each.

On the defensive side of the ball, notable performances include Bradshaw’s 16 tackles, followed by 8 tackles by Caiser Leboss, and 7 tackles each by Mills and Damian Torres.

"We wanted to send a message that Paloma is here and we’re not going anywhere. We want to show the fans that they are supporting a winning team here," Bradshaw said.

Next week, Paloma Valley hits the road to travel to Riverside and face the Wolves of King High School (1-1).

Corey Maddox races through the Valley View defense for big yardage Friday night. Photo by Kristi Jo Aguirre