By Vincent PAGE

After an opening round matchup that saw the CV Falcons holding a tight lead over Peninsula High School for most of the game, the Falcons had another strong showing on Friday night facing Eisenhower High School in Rialto. Solid performances earned CV a final score of 45-20 inching the Falcons closer to a CIF championship. It was one their strongest wins of the season, and set them up well for their third round game against Katella High School on Friday.

The win was particularly impressive as Brendan Pehar had to take the reins again as the team’s starting quarterback as Chase Center continued to nurse a leg injury. It’s unclear when Center will return to action and until he does Pehar will be the game manager for the Falcons.

While he doesn’t possess the same running threat that Center brings, Pehar has risen to the challenge when asked to do so. The Falcons depended on their running game against Eisenhower and Pehar completed just four of nine passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.

The real stars of the night came in a pair of running backs: Maximus Grant and Sebastian Deleon. Grant had been the team’s starting running back all season, and logged 11 carries for 99 yards on the night.

But it was Deleon who truly shined, totaling 102 yards on 14 carries and also crossing the goal line for four touchdowns. He was the one the Falcons relied upon when they were on the verge of scoring, and Deleon delivered time and time again. He also pitched in in the passing game, catching two passes for 20 yards and another touchdown. His five touchdowns on Friday night were more than the Falcons’ defense has allowed all postseason.

Speaking of that defense, it was once again a stellar unit. From the start of the game, Eisenhower was simply unable to run the ball. The Eagles only logged 11 attempts for 40 yards (compared to the Falcons’ 320 yards on 47 carries). The Falcons have been hard to run against all season, and Eisenhower learned that the hard way on Friday.

There was some success in
their passing game. Quarter-back Caesar Ayala completed 16 of 31 passes for 225 yards and two scores. But CV made his life hard throughout the game as their pass rush was consistently taking Ayala to the ground.

Chuck Meyer, one of the stars from CV’s opening round, continued his impressive postseason run with a sack in the first half. But he would ultimately be removed from the game with an injury. Matthew Watson carried the load, though, with 1.5 sacks on the night.

Angel Ochoa, who will likely be named an All-Pacific League member, was once again an elite defender. He finished the game with four tackles while also intercepting an Ayala pass. CV has a history of safeties who can defend both the run and pass, and Ochoa continued to make his case as one of the best week in and week out. 

Looking forward, the Falcons will be taking on the Katella Knights this Friday. While the Falcons have had big games this year, this promises to be their toughest test to date and it isn’t necessarily close. Katella is 11-1 and built in a very similar syle as the Falcons: a strong run game and outstanding defense. They’ve held opponents to just 10.4 points per game while scoring 39.5 points for themselves on average. That’s nearly a 30-point difference and points to this being a true test for the Falcons.

The winner goes to the CIF title game. CV will kick off against Katella at Glendale High School’s Moyse Field at 7:30 (though start time could be moved back to 7 p.m.).

  Vincent PAGE