Special Teams Key in Vista Murrieta's 29-10 Victory

MURRIETA – The game of football comprises of three aspects: Offense, Defense and Special teams. Friday night, the Vista Murrieta Broncos put all three aspects to good use enroute to a 29-10 victory over visiting Bishop Amat.

Vista Murrieta (3-0) used its defense to hold the visiting Lancers to 3 points in the first half and 10 points for the game. The special teams blocked two of Bishop Amat’s kicks, as well as forcing an errant snap into the endzone late in the contest for a safety.

Bryson Beaver accounted for all the Broncos’ scoring and finished the evening 15 of 26 for 186 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 51 yards on seven carries and a touchdown.

Bishop Amat (2-2) and Vista Murrieta traded three-and- outs then on Amat’s punt on its second possession, Vista could not secure the punt, giving the Lancers a second chance to score, but failed to do so, turning the possession over on downs.

“Little mistakes that we made. Bad snaps. Holding penalties. Jumping offside. Things that we did. We control our own destiny, and we have to live with those things,” Bishop Amat coach Kory Minor said.

The Broncos proceed to march down the field, mostly rushing, while accumulating some penalties along the way. The drive featured a fake punt where punter Riley Hauser mishandled the punt, then proceeded to run up the field 12 yards to preserve the drive. Beaver scored on a 2-yard scamper down the left side to take a 7-0 lead.

Amat immediately responded on the next drive with a 42-yard field goal by Noah Guillien to close the gap to 7-3. He will later have his 49-yard attempt blocked by the Broncos. Amat will get a punt blocked later in the contest which gifted the Broncos excellent field position at the 5.

“I felt there was a little bit of opportunity for us to take the momentum,” Broncos coach Coley Candaele said. “We always have a block plan. The punter bobbled the ball a little bit and we got on it. That helped us.”

Amat’s Ryan Salcedo, who averaged almost 163 yards/carry in three games scored Amat’s only touchdown late when the result was already decided. Daniel Reyes set up Salcedo ‘s run with a 55-yard pass to Raymond Castro.

Salcedo finished with 115 yards on 19 carries and the one score. Starting quarterback Brayden Wann could not get anything going, finishing 7 of 18 for 59 yards.

“That’s a good football team,” Minor said, pointing to the Broncos’ sideline. “They beat our butts, and we’ve got to own that. And we’ll regroup, come back next week, and have a better outcome.”

The Broncos hosts Beaumont next friday. Bishop Amat travels to Upland. Both games' kickoff is 7pm.

SCORING SUMMARY:

2ND: Vista Murrieta - Brayden Beaver 2 yard run (Upton Noah kick)

Bishop Amat - Noah Guillien 42-yard field goal

3rd: Vista Murrieta - Beaver 44 yard pass to Cash Bryant (Noah kick)

Beaver 5-yard pass to Bryant (Kick failed)

4th: Bishop Amat - Ryan Salcedo 8 yard run (Gullien Kick)

Vista Murietta - Beaver 6 yard pass to Tyler Caldwell (Noah Kick)