REDLANDS – The Redlands East Valley High bullet train to a CitrusBelt League football championship was derailed on Thursday night.
Cajon defeated REV 54-0 to remain the only unbeaten team in the league.
Now only wins against Redlands and Citrus Valley separate Cajon (5-3 overall, 3-0) from a perfect run through the CBL schedule.
Last week, REV’s offense gained 754 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in a 69-28 Smudge Pot game victory against rival Redlands. But Cajon was a whole different animal, limiting the Wildcats to 169 yards with hard hits and sure tackles.
“They’re a good football team,” first-year REV coach Kristian King said. "It was a good reality check for us. We still have work to put in, and we still need to compete, no matter what.”
Cajon's Jackson Murray attempts catch in front of REV's Michael Berto.(Photo by John Murphy)
REV moved to the Cajon 33 on its first possession with runs by Nathen Lopez and a 24-yard Isaac Vitela pass to Lopez. But the Wildcats turned the ball over on downs and the Cajon onslaught began.
Freshman quarterback Marcus Washington’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Landon White gave the Cowboys an 8-0 lead with 3:50 left in the first quarter.
The next REV possession went nowhere, and Cajon wasted little time capitalizing. Washington’s 48-yard pass to Maleek Nolley set up Nolley’s 3-yard TD run to make it 14-0 with 2:23 left in the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, Cajon started moving again. Washington led a drive that resulted in Jordan White’s 3-yard TD run and the Cowboys led 20-0 and were not going to be caught.
REV's Marcus Medina picks up yards as Cajon's Edward Campbell pursues.(Photo by John Murphy)
“Our guys are starting to settle in,” Cajon coach Nick Rogers said. “We came in with a lot of inexperience at the start of the year. These kids now have eight games under their belts. So now the freshmen that are starting, we’re starting to look at them like sophomores.”
A difficult schedule has served Cajon well, one that has included such heavyweights as Norco, San Jacinto, and Permian of Odessa, Texas. That trio was a combined 16-5 heading into last weekend’s games.
“That’s always the goal, to have a tough schedule,” Rogers said. “We played some tough teams early on and hopefully that will put us in the right mindset for the playoffs.”
Cajon led 27-0 at the half.
Rogers did not hesitate when his fast, hard-hitting defense was mentioned.
“Our defense flies around and it makes plays,” Rogers said. “Led by Taylor Johnson and Uziah Todd, and Deangelo Dejohnette, those guys really lay hat. They’re fun to watch, especially when (opponents) kids kind of bail out of hits, trying to avoid those guys.”
REV's Zebastian Miranda performs a rugby style punt.(Photo by John Murphy)
That defense even produced points for the Cowboys. Midway through the third quarter, USC commit Taylor Johnson intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. Seven plays later, Quinn Jackson got into the act, returning a tipped pass 40 yards for a score.
Washington threw for 238 yards for Cajon, Landon White had three catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and Jordan White rushed 11 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns.
Johnson and Dejohnette paced Cajon with 12 tackles each, Brandon Green had nine tackles, and Brown and Todd chipped in with eight apiece. Todd contributed 1.5 sacks.
It was a forgettable night for REV.
“I told the guys that we can’t let this change the trajectory of our season,” King said. “We’re still on the climb and we’re still in a good spot. We play Yucaipa and if we win that game and get to third place and make the playoffs, then that’s what we want. That’s the goal.”
REV coach Kristian King addresses his team following the game.(Photo by John Murphy)
Vitela threw for 111 yards for REV. Lopez left the game at halftime due to a cranky knee.
REV (5-3, 2-1) went 1-9 last season, with its only victory being a 31-21 decision against Redlands.
Besides its home game against Yucaipa, REV has a road game left against Beaumont on Oct. 30.
CITRUS VALLEY 48, REDLANDS 8
Citrus Valley dominated its cross-town rival in a game at Dodge Field.
The Blackhawks (2-6 overall, 2-1 CBL) scored with three minutes left in the first quarter on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Dominic Robles to Junior Risper to make it 7-0.
Robles then beat Redlands (2-6, 0-3) with his feet, scoring on a 25-yard run to increase the Blackhawk lead to 14-0 with six minutes left in the first half.
Next, Citrus Valley turned a Kameron Garcia interception into points. The Blackhawks took the ball on the Terrier 25 and eventually scored on a 10-yard Robles pass to Dylan Gallegos for 21-0.
The Blackhawks added the knockout blow with less than a minute left in the half on a 12-yard Robles TD pass to Jaymie Evans, making it 28-0.
Trailing 35-0, Redlands got on the scoreboard with a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown by Tyler Kroeker.
Kameron Garcia had two interceptions for Citrus Valley and Ismael Gonzalez made 17 tackles. Taven Baggett contributed 11 tackles including one sack.
Anthony Ortiz and Michael Hodges made 15 tackles apiece for Redlands and Ortiz also had a sack.
A third-generation San Francisco native. His first job was in Watsonville, where he wrote stories on a typewriter and people smoked in the office. He's covered Redlands, San Bernardino and Riverside.
