Colton comes out “light” against Kaiser, loses 49-18

The+Yellowjackets+line+up+against+the+Kaiser+Cats.+They+lost+this+matchup%2C+49-18.

The Yellowjackets line up against the Kaiser Cats. They lost this matchup, 49-18.

Colton, CA—Winners of four straight and fresh off a week that resulted in the cancellation of a mid-season matchup against the 4-1 Jurupa Hills Spartans, the Yellowjackets returned home to Memorial Stadium and got ran over by the Kaiser Cats, 49-18.

“Early miscues got us,” Coach Ray Rodriguez said. “We played a good team. Their record was 1-4, but they weren’t a 1-4 team. They’ve had a tough schedule. They were very battle tested. They came out confident and we made a lot of mistakes early and dug ourselves into a hole and couldn’t get out.”

Those early miscues on defense allowed for Kaiser to suck up the clock on their first possession before sophomore Kiyel Tyler broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run. It was the first of several huge runs out of the Cats’ backfield.

Once the Colton offense took the field with 3:44 left in the first quarter, they could not rediscover the groove they were in against Bloomington, Arroyo Valley, San Gorgonio, and Fontana. Penalties, ball handling issues, and incompletions caused by the swarming Cats defense kept the previously unstoppable Colton offense in check.

In the second quarter, the Cats continued scratching at the scoreboard with their superior run game. Senior Donovan Price exploded through the defensive line for a 66-yard touchdown run. Sophomore Jonathan Marshall, Jr. added a 6-yard running touchdown.

If not for a dramatic 47-yard touchdown bomb to Xavier Sandoval from quarterback Gabriel Aparicio, the Yellowjackets would have gone into the locker room at halftime on the losing end of a shutout. Instead, they ended the half down 6-28.

Kaiser came out in the second half and refused to let up, stomping the Yellowjackets with three more running touchdowns, including 47-yard and 50-yard runs by Price.

The Yellowjackets were able to find a little more offense in the second half, with Aparicio throwing for two touchdowns against one interception to two of his favorite targets, Steven Medina and Xavier Sandoval. Medina, back from injury, scored on a 25-yard pass. Sandoval added a second touchdown to his game total with a 23-yard catch late in the game.

After the game, Aparicio was frustrated, but focused. “We got worked. We got beat. We got humbled. We had a four game win streak and we came out light.”

Poor effort was a common theme from the coaching staff after the game, as well, and Aparicio reflected that. “Everyone has to get better in their position, they gotta work ten times harder at practice. We have to come to practice. And we just gotta work better as a team overall.”

Coach Rodriguez couldn’t agree more. He had some tough words for his team, who are on the precipice of the toughest stretch of their schedule. “The overachievers are the same overachievers each week, and we need somebody else to step up now. We’re in a tough stretch of the season and I need some more guys to step up.”

“We are gonna have some adversity in these next couple weeks and they need to learn from that. This is the time that we become a battle tested team.”

The 4-2 Yellowjackets (0-1 in San Andreas league play) face off against the 4-2 Eisenhower High School next Friday at Memorial Stadium.