REV seizes Smudge Pot, preps for mighty Cajon

REDLANDS – Redlands East Valley High senior quarterback Isaac Vitela called signals from his own 37-yard line Friday night against rival Redlands.

Vitela took the snap and faked a handoff. He looked up field to pass but scrambled left as his blocking broke down. He sprinted around the left side, beat one defender and then found a convoy of three blockers down the left side for a 63-yard touchdown.

*Isaac Vitela's 63-yard TD run gives REV a 7-0 lead. (Photo by John Murphy)*

Vitela blew past everyone and into the end zone for the first score in REV’s 69-28 Smudge Pot defeat of rival Redlands.

A smudge pot was a device used decades ago to keep frost off fruit. The devices are not used now because of air pollution, but REV and Redlands play for the brightly colored contraption every year.

“It felt good,” Vitela said after the record-setting night. “Everybody was making their blocks. We came in here with a chip on our shoulder and we got the W. I always have a chip on my shoulder. I feel like I’m No. 1 and so I play like it.”

It was an epic blowout. REV scored the most points of any team in the 29-year history of the game. The 97 combined points scored was also a Smudge Pot record.

REV now leads the all-time series 17-12.

*Redlands East Valley was fired up and confident as it took the field. (Photo by John Murphy)*

Vitela completed 11 of 16 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed eight times for 185 yards and two scores.

“The kid is special,” REV first-year coach Kristian King said. “He’s a leader and he’s the one the team rallies behind. He’s really controlling the offense and leading people. He’s the one that we’re riding.”

Redlands coach Bob Stangel Jr. was impressed.

“Kristian King has done an outstanding job with the resurgence of REV’s program,” Stangel said. “I also think that Isaac Vitela was the best player on the field, by far. He’s a special kid. He has poise and the ability to throw or run. That’s tough to deal with and they’ve done a nice job building their offense around him.”

Vitela’s long TD run gave REV a 7-0 lead, but Redlands drove smartly down the field on its first possession, mostly on runs by Christian Sturm. The Terriers picked up three first downs before facing fourth-and-two at the Wildcat 14. An incomplete Andrew Fraire pass ended that threat.

Then Vitela went back to work, completing an 18-yard pass to Nathen Lopez who is back on the team after last season’s injury and a desire to focus on baseball. Vitela threw a 31-yarder to Nathan Gibson and finally a 24-yarder in the right corner of the end zone to Taamir Mack to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 13-0.

Lopez, an all-leaguer last season, explained his return.

“I tore my (anterior cruciate ligament) last year and I was able to have advanced physical therapy and get back faster,” he said. “My parents got me all the right supplements. I was able to speed up my recovery and come back healthier and stronger.”

Asked if REV’s resurgence had a bearing on his return, Lopez nodded yes.

“Seeing my team win and the people that I played with since my freshman year – and seeing the CBL start I just couldn’t move on in life thinking what if,” he said. “It felt amazing (tonight). Before the game I knew what I was capable of and I just needed to come out here and ball out.”

Lopez rushed 13 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 88 yards and another score.

The REV defense shut down Redlands on its next possession and then it was Vitela time again. His 65-yard TD run made it 20-0 Wildcats with 27 seconds left in the first quarter.

REV’s big offensive line of left tackle Landon Mlotkowski, left guard Markus Sierra, center Henry Schlotterbeck, right guard Robert Morris, and right tackle Tyler Huston did its job.

*The Terrier offensive line gets coached up during the 29th Smudge Pot Game. (Photo by John Murphy)*

Stangel knew his team was overmatched.

“We’re not big and we’re not fast,” Stangel said. “We’re not the kind of team that can make a lot of mistakes and we didn’t tackle well.”

The next time REV touched the ball it was more of the same with Vitela completing a 7-yard TD pass to Nathaniel Williams III to make it 27-0.

The worst fears of Terrier fans came true as Mlotkowski hoisted Williams high above his head in celebration.

*REV's Nathaniel Williams III gets a lift from lineman Landon Mlotkowski. (Photo by John Murphy)*

REV was well on its way to victory though Redlands earned a nice hurrah when Fraire on third-and-17 from the Wildcat 31, completed a TD pass to Jaime Moreno to make it 27-8.

But REV simply went back to work. Lopez ripped off a 40-yard run and then, after a Vitela incomplete pass, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Lopez took it in from 11 yards as the Wildcats increased their lead to 34-8 with 5:46 left in the first half.

The Wildcats weren’t finished, either.

A 76-yard TD run by Gibson had REV’s red-clad supporters howling and made it 41-8 heading into the half.

REV (5-2 overall, 2-0 CBL) is now one of two unbeaten teams in league, with Cajon (4-3, 2-0) being the other. The teams meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at REV with first place on the line.

*REV's Josiah Carter knocks away a pass intended for Redlands' Junior Sanchez. (Photo by John Murphy)*

Asked if he anticipated such an occurrence before the season, King said, “I definitely thought it was attainable. It just has come down to how well do we respond. Did we learn from the lessons early in the season. I told the kids to keep competing and learn from everything. We made some mistakes in the pre-season and lost a couple of games, but all of those lessons allowed us to get better. If you do that, you put yourself in a good situation.”

The stars were many for REV. Besides Vitela and Lopez, Mack caught four passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns.

Gibson caught two passes for 75 yards and one TD.

Williams grabbed two passes for 11 yards and one score.

And the busy kicker Darius Siddighi made 9 of 9 extra points.

Defensively, Micah Ley contributed 15 tackles and Evan Espinoza made 11 tackles including a tackle for loss and caused a fumble. Jesus Lorenzo and Lincoln Bunker had nine tackles each, Marcus Manriquez made eight tackles and Gabriel Corzo and Loghun Maynard had seven tackles each. Michael Berto contributed three tackles including two for loss.

Lineman Malachi Timmons did a nice job plugging up the middle for REV.

Redlands (2-5, 0-2) had highlights as well. Fraire was under pressure all night but completed 13 of 28 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed nine times for 45 yards.

Aiden Rogers rushed 16 times for 101 yards for the Terriers and Sturm chipped in with 10 carries for 41 yards and one score.

Moreno was a revelation, catching six passes for 175 yards and one TD.

“We saw some good things,” Stangel said. “There are things we can build on. We just need to get better defensively.”

The Terriers are back at Dodge Field at 7 p.m. Friday, hosting Citrus Valley (1-6, 1-1).

THE SMUDGE POT THROUGH THE YEARS

1997: Redlands 55, REV 0
1998: Redlands 37, REV 0
1999: Redlands 14, REV 0
2000: Redlands 42, REV 0
2001: Redlands 42, REV 0
2002: Redlands 47, REV 6
2003: REV 24, Redlands 16
2004: Redlands 22, REV 14
2005: REV 27, Redlands 12
2006: Redlands 48, REV 25
2007: REV 34, Redlands 14
2008: REV 14, Redlands 12
2009: REV 37, Redlands 7
2010: REV 24, Redlands 22
2011: REV 21, Redlands 14 (OT)
2012: Redlands 41, REV 37
2013: REV 45, Redlands 7
2014: REV 40, Redlands 14
2015: REV 52, Redlands 14
2016: REV 28, Redlands 14
2017: REV 19, Redlands 7
2018: REV 41, Redlands 27
2019: Redlands 20, REV 17
2020: REV 14, Redlands 10
2021: REV 20, Redlands 14
2022: Redlands 20, REV 19
2023: Redlands 35, REV 32
2024: REV 31, Redlands 21
2025: REV 69, Redlands 28

Total: REV 17 wins, Redlands 12