Photo of Jake Duronslet
Football:
Story by John Honell
It’s not often that Covina High can look into the stands and find Northview coach Marcel Perez and many of the Vikings players and coaches rooting them on.
No, there isn’t a change of heart and the two programs aren’t buddies, but had the Colts won Saturday’s CIF-SS Division 10 quarterfinal contest against visiting Palmdale, Northview and Covina would have met next week at Covina District Field with a spot in the D-10 finals at stake.
The Falcons, though, did not cooperate.
Palmdale blew open the game in the second half and went on to a 58-13 victory.
With the win, Palmdale forces Northview to make a 78-mile drive.
But back to Saturday’s quarterfinal.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Colts in their first appearance in the CIF playoffs since 2017.
Turnovers, penalties and special teams proved to be the difference in the game, as the Falcons scored 37 second-half points.
Fans got a hint of the trouble to come on the Colts first series.
A high snap over the punters head resulted in the Falcons taking over on the Colts 11-yard line.
The Colts defense held and they took over on downs on their own 5-yard line.
They got as far as the Falcons’ 34 before penalties sent them backwards.
The game was scoreless when the Falcons started an eight-play drive at their own 20-yard line, capped by a 10-yard run by senior Anthony Woods with 10:56 left in the second quarter.
Palmdale was aided by a 15-yard personal foul penalty but the Colts couldn’t stop Woods.
Woods carried the ball 23 times for 224 yards and four touchdowns.
“Woods is a stud,” Colts head coach Dale Ziola said. “He’s the best back we’ve seen all year. We wanted to try and take him out of it but, we were just a half-step behind all night.”
Covina tied the score on a 12-yard pass from freshman Jacob Duronslet to Kerry Smith with 9:22 left in the first half.
But the Colts went three-and-out on their next two possessions.
Woods put the Falcons ahead for good with a seven-yard score with 7:14 left in the second quarter.
He almost had his third TD of the half, but a 62-yard touchdown was called back because he hurdled a Colt defender on his way down the field.
Legal in college and the pros, hurdling a defender is a 15-yard penalty in high school football.
That didn’t stop the Falcons, quarterback Kadin Newton, who threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kylen Gibson to give the Falcons a 21-7 lead at the break.
The second half was all Palmdale.
The Colts tried an onside kick, but an alert Jaden Radke grabbed the kick at midfield, split the front line and took the ball to the Colts eight-yard line.
Woods took it in the next play.
“We took a shot,” Ziola said. “They jumped the kick and then turned around and did the same thing to us.”
On the ensuing kickoff, the Falcons tried a squib kick that hit a Colts player in the chest.
The Falcons recovered at their own 49-yard line.
Woods went 51 yards on the next play for his fourth TD of the game.
It wasn’t over for the Colts.
Another bad snap on a punt resulted in a safety, and on the ensuing free kick, Gibson returned it 75 yards for the Falcons final score of the game.
The Colts didn’t quit, Duronslet hit Ronnie Munoz for a 31-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game.
Duronslet finished 13 of 28 for 191 yards, and threw two TD passes.
“They were a tough team,” Duronslet said. “They wouldn’t let me get into a rhythm. I’ve had a great experience with all the seniors and I just wish we could have taken them farther. We’ll be back.”
Box Score:
P: 0-21-21-16-(58)
C: 0-7-0-6-(13)
Records: Palmdale (9-3); Covina (8-4)
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