Photos by Yen Benton
Football:
It’s been 11 years since the West Covina football program has earned a spot in the CIF-SS semifinals.
But Mike Maggiore’s crew is headed to Palm Desert next Friday in the hopes of earning a D-10 title-game appearance.
To get there, however, the Bulldogs needed to scratch and claw their way to victory in Friday’s quarterfinal at Beckman.
And WCHS did that.
In a classic defensive struggle, West Covina left Irvine with a 14-10 victory.
Both teams exchanged possessions, and Beckman struck first with a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter.
After a few runs by Zander Requena, Ethan Mendez and Angel Murillo, Chris Perez tossed a 22-yard touchdown to Angel Murillo in the second quarter.
On the next possession, Miles Reid stepped in front of a screen pass and took it back 39 yards for a pick-six and a 14-3 lead after Donovan Romero’s second extra-point of the night.
The WCHS and BHS defenses dominated the next two quarters, with the only scoring coming from Beckman in the fourth quarter.
Austin Shepard hit Dominic Thompson on a 40-yard TD pass to pull the Patriots to within 14-10 of the Bulldogs.
West Covina, however, would hold their ground, and improved to 10-2, which is the program’s best since 2011.
Notes from Coach Maggiore:Isaiah Ruiz and Daniel Carrillo had sacks.
Carrillo now has 12.5 sacks on the year.
Sophomore Felipe Hernandez drew constant double teams, and he played well at defensive tackle.Miles Reid made several key plays from his outside linebacker spot, and Jake Godinez played his best game of the year.Robert Rodriguez, Gage Ballum, Marciano Ramirez, Sebastian Martinez and Dario Montalvo did a good job in the secondary.We had a great turnout from our parents, families, students and Bulldog fans.
When you take a bus for 90 minutes to South Orange County, and the game starts, and your crowd is louder than the home team, it’s awesome as a coach and for our players. We’re excited to get one more week of football with these guys!
Up next: WCHS will make the 100-mile drive to Palm Desert to face Xavier Prep.
The Saints (8-4) edged Kennedy, 10-7, in their quarterfinal-round contest.
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Box Score:
WC: 0-14-0-0-(14)
B: 3-0-0-7-(10)
Division 10 Scores:
Torrance 21, Redlands 14
Hemet 38, Elsinore 13
West Covina 14, Beckman 10
Xavier Prep 10, Kennedy 7
Semifinal Schedule:
Hemet at Torrance
West Covina at Xavier Prep
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