Murrieta HS Gridiron Summary For Week Ending Sept. 14

Vista Murrieta

Vista Murrieta traveled to Yucaipa high school and came home victorious after a 52-13 thumping of the Thunderbirds.

Some highlights from the Bronco's game included:

• Team rushing yards were more than 400 for the second straight game, led by Coltin Gerhart (189 yards and three touchdowns), Tito Feliciano (102 yards), and Keith Ford (81 yards and two touchdowns).
• Two impressive kick returns by Kwesi Mashack (56 yards) and Seth Acda (38 yards). Mashack also had five solo tackles on the night.
  
• Randy Beggs returned one interception 40 yards.  He was also responsible for eight tackles.
  
• Kicker Aaron Ruth is perfect in PATs after two games with 16 conversions including 7 of 7 against Yucaipa. He also booted all nine kickoff's into the end zone.

Vista Murrieta is now 2-0 and ranked second in the latest CIF-Southern Section (Inland Division) poll from Sept. 16. No.1-ranked Corona Centennial lost against Long Beach Poly 35-28 on Friday but retained its poll position.

The Broncos next play at ninth-ranked Redlands East Valley this Friday.

Calvary Murrieta

Coach Brad Schwab's Warriors are now 1-1 after losing at home to the Titans of Notre Dame, 49-3. On Sept. 6 the Warriors won 26-7 versus Riverside Christian.

Season and game statistics were not available at publication time.

Friday night, the Warriors travel to Rio Hondo Prep in Arcadia, a 2-1 squad.

Murrieta Mesa

Homecoming was kind to the Rams as they hosted the Tahquitz Titans.

After overcoming some stiff defense in the first half and holding a 3-0 lead, Murrieta Mesa reached the end zone once in the third quarter and Ram sophomore kicker Mateo Thompson added an insurance field goal, also in the third.

And this wasn't just any field goal—it was a school-record 52-yard field goal.

It truly was a night for the defense, though, as the Rams' rushing game was kept to 36 net yards. The passing game fared a bit better with 154 yards, though out of sync with earlier games against Jurupa Hills (311 yards) and Hemet (231 yards).

Ram highlights from the game included:

• Ten team tackles for loss
• Six sacks of the Tahquitz quarterback
  
• One interception, one fumble recovery, and two blocked field goals.
  
• Ram senior punter Daniel Castro had a fine night with seven punts, averaging 47.6 yards. His longest was for 59 yards and he was inside the twenty yard line on six of the seven.

Murrieta Mesa is now 3-0 and will travel to Citrus Valley in Redlands on Friday evening.

Murrieta Valley

The back-and-forth action was tense Friday night on Murrieta Valley's home turf.

Relief came in the fourth quarter when the Nighthawks scored 14 unanswered points and celebrated a 45-34 win over Roosevelt.

It was a balanced approach with 283 rushing yards and 223 passing yards. New Nighthawk coach Vinny Fazio should be pleased with his inheritance.

Senior QB Preston Miller was 12 of 17 with 223 passing yards and two TDs.  His favorite receiver on the night was junior Aaron Young with seven receptions for 141 yards. They hooked up on one play for 48 yards.

The Nighthawks are blessed with three kickers, each sharing the various duties.  Senior Loni Byers was successful on all six PATs Friday night. She hasn't missed one this season is currently on a streak with 13 straight.

Senior running back Michael Robles got the lion's share of handoffs, gaining an impressive 207 yards on 27 carries. Robles is racking up the yards this season with 522 after only three games.

Another go-to guy on the team is No. 90, Jordan Silva. When Silva gets the ball, he gets yards. Friday, the 6-foot-5-inch, 245-pound senior gained 45 yards on four carries.

All that will be put to the test as the fourth-ranked Nighthawks face the stingy defense of third-ranked Rancho Cucamonga this Friday night on the Murrieta Valley gridiron.

Both teams are 3-0.