Photos by Yen Benton
Football:
Just when it looked like West Covina was petering out towards the end of the regular season, the Bulldogs regrouped, worked their butts off, and earned themselves a spot in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 10 playoffs.
WCHS headed into San Antonio League play at 6-1, and narrowly edged winless Claremont, 12-7, in week eight.
The Bulldogs followed that up with a 41-40 loss to visiting Don Lugo, as Kalib Pacheco drove the Conquistadores 75 yards in 30 seconds for the game-winning score.
West Covina would finish out its regular season slate with a 35-6 victory over Chaffey and entered the playoffs at 8-2.
And they happen to have this guy leading the program named Mike Maggiore, who hasn’t won three CIF-SS titles by accident.
He’s been one of the SGV area’s elite coaches for longer than his players have been alive.
And on Friday, West Covina looked like a 9-2 program after a convincing 30-16 victory over Paloma Valley.
Zander Requena had a monster game for WCHS.
Requena carried the ball 35 times for 287 yards and three TD’s.
The Bulldogs took a 16-8 lead into their locker room, thanks to a pair of Requena TD’s and a 37-yard field goal by Donovan Romero.
In the third quarter, Miles Reid blocked punt and Ethan Mendez scored from one yard out to extend the WCHS lead to 23-8.
West Covina was eight yards away from another score, but they turned the ball over, and five plays later, Paloma Valley had pulled to within 23-16.
Requena and the offensive line came through with a dominant performance, and he put the game away with a 22-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs O-line played well, Daniel Carrillo had three sacks and pressured their quarterback all night, and Felipe Hernandez and Eddie Walker added to the pressure.
Sebastian Martinez had a pick to ice the game.
It was Sebastian’s third interception of the season.
Maggiore said that Isaiah Ruiz played well at linebacker, and that his assistant coaches, Jason Heilman and Brian Ybarra ‘did a good job of preparing our guys, and the players made plays and executed.’
Up next: The Bulldogs will battle Beckman next Friday in the second round.
The Patriots (9-2) picked up a 14-9 road win at Capistrano Valley Christian.
To view a photo gallery by Yen Benton, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Box Score:
PV: 0-8-0-8-(16)
WC: 6-10-7-7-(30)
Records: Paloma Valley (7-4); West Covina (9-2)
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