By Brandon HENSLEY

It will be another year of coming up short for the Crescenta Valley High School football team. Since winning a CIF championship in 2014, which capped off an undefeated season, the Falcons have had success in the regular season, only to fall short in the playoffs.

They did it again this year, after a wild night at Warren High School where CV fell to the Bears, 52-47, in the CIF Division VII first-round playoff game. It was CV’s fourth consecutive year of losing in the first round.

CV led at halftime, 35-31, but let it get away in the second half. It’s been a trend for the Falcons in this round in recent years; last year they lost a low-scoring game after letting a late lead slip away.

CV’s offense was on point all game against Warren and, defensively, the team was ready for Bears’ quarterback Chris Vanegas and his offense. Venegas passed for 268 yards and four touchdowns. The Bears also amassed 226 yards rushing, with two scores.

All season long, the Falcons have been used to racking up points, averaging over 27 points a game (and it most likely would have been more if the game vs. Hoover wasn’t a forfeit from Hoover’s side during homecoming week).

It must have been refreshing for Coach Paul Schilling and his staff to see their team rebound from a disappointing effort in the season finale vs. Arcadia, a game in which the Apaches put it to CV 43-10.

Still, even with the renewed offense this time around, it wasn’t enough.

Senior quarterback Cole Doyle, who has been the starter since he was a sophomore, finished his career going 16 of 27 for 240 yards passing, with one touchdown and one interception. Doyle was solid as a passer in 2018, throwing for over 1,800 yards with 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. It was on the ground, though, where Doyle was just as good, if not better. He rushed for 1,234 yards on 159 carries, and had eight games where he ran for over 100 yards.

The Falcons will return key players Colby Rees and Chad Ruf for next season, while they look to another quarterback to lead the way and, finally, make it back out of the first round.

  Brandon Hensley