Football:
It couldn’t have been a massive surprise that Ayala took a little while to get going offensively.
The Bulldogs had last week off, and they struggled two weeks ago in a 21-7 loss to Glendora.
But Ayala did what great programs do.
They rode their defense and special teams until the Bulldogs offense found a rhythm and scored 21 third-quarter points.
Ayala opened Mountain West League play with a 24-6 victory over visiting Alta Loma.
Trailing 6-3 in the third quarter, and on a 4th-and-3 play from their own 30-yard line, Bulldogs’ coach Arthur Gracia had the stones to call for a fake punt.
Drew Merrill made his coach look good, sprinting for 20 yards and the first down.
Gracia’s call and Merrill’s run is said to have sparked that third-quarter surge.
The Ayala ground game picked up 251 yards on 35 carries.
Marquis Monroe rushed for 121 yards on 14 carries.
Bryan Wilson had seven carries for 44 yards, and Jacob Munoz gained 57 yards on seven carries.
Wilson completed 14 of his 21 pass attempts for 167 yards.
The Bulldogs sophomore threw a pair of TD’s and was picked off once.
Lytallion Payne paced the Ayala receiving corps with seven receptions for 78 yards.
Dominic Alloway caught three passes for 52 yards and two TD’s.
Marquis Monroe reeled in three passes for 36 yards.
Nick Lane made all three of his PAT’s and opened the scoring in the first quarter with a 28-yard field goal.
On defense, Chandler Carthan forced a fumble that Drew Merrill scooped and returned 38 yards into Braves territory.
The Bulldogs D also held Alta Loma to just 11 yards rushing on 22 carries.
Alta Loma’s Trevor Tedesco completed 14 of 29 for 170 yards.
Kent Oliver and Braden Lynch combined for 10 catches and 122 receiving yards for the Braves.
Up next: Ayala will host Bonita on Friday.
The Bearcats (7-1, 1-0) are coming off a 21-10 victory over Charter Oak.
Box Score:
Alta Loma: 0-6-0-0-(6)
Ayala: 3-0-21-0-(24)
Records: Alta Loma (6-2, 0-1); Ayala (7-1, 1-0)
To view Josh Thompson’s photo gallery, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
To view Gustavo Vargas’ photo gallery, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Thanks to Randy Reams for the game info and stats.
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