Rivalry fizzles as Yellowjackets wrecked by Titans, 54-6

Sonia Castillo

Damien Sanchez finds himself with nowhere to go in the first quarter against Grand Terrace High.

Gallery • 10 Photos

J. Dollins

The Yellowjackets arrived late to the game as part of a plan by administration from both schools to avoid unnecessary conflict. And to make the arrival time even later, the team just happened to get caught behind a train.

Grand Terrace, CA—There’s no other way to put it. The Grand Terrace Titans destroyed the Yellowjackets last night in Grand Terrace. The final was a 54-6 announcement that the rivalry between these two teams is a lopsided one.

“We had to play a perfect game,” head coach Ray Rodriguez said. “We didn’t. The kids came out super flat before halftime, and maybe we couldn’t rebound.”

“Flat” is an understatement. The Yellowjackets gave up touchdowns on all seven of the Titans possessions in the first half. Offensively, Colton punted four times and were intercepted twice, going into halftime down 47-0.

A running clock was put into effect for the second half to speed up game play. Grand Terrace scored on the first possession of the half, then put in their second unit to finish the game.

Colton scored their only touchdown on a 10-yard run by quarterback Gabriel Aparicio late in the fourth quarter. For the second straight game, Aparicio struggled in the passing game, throwing no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Aparicio was down after the game, but resilient. “This is just a learning experience, you know,” he said “and it humbled us again.”

The running attack that defined the Yellowjackets game against AB Miller was non-existent against Grand Terrace. The trio of Damien Sanchez, Ashton Russell, and James Gonzales couldn’t find gaps in the defense, and wound up eating turf most of the night.

This game marked the tenth meeting between the district rivals. Including this game, the Titans have won the last seven.

Leading up to this matchup, there was a lot of community tension due to last year’s game at Colton’s Homecoming. Grand Terrace’s fans showed up to that game with their own decorations, including a set of large light-up letters they erected atop the visitor’s section at Memorial Stadium.

Several Colton community members were offended by the display, which they saw as an affront to their Homecoming celebration that went above and beyond simple team loyalty.

Leading up to this game, administration, athletic directors, and activities directors from both schools met to determine some conditions to ensure a better environment for this year’s rivalry game.

These included: prohibiting visiting teams from decorating their section beyond bringing signs or t-shirts; a game time arrival by the visiting team; and no locker room access by the visitors to protect them from the possibility of home team fans throwing things at them from the stands.

According to Principal John Abbott, an attempt is being made to unify the rivals. Earlier this week, on Tuesday, cheerleaders from both teams met on neutral ground at the CJUSD district office in Colton for a show of sportsmanship and photo op.

All this made for an evening without incident, unless you count the beating Colton took on the field.

“Pick your heads up,” Captain Adam Torres told his teammates. “Can’t do nothing about it now. Gotta switch gears for next week, get a little crazy, and expect to win.”

The Yellowjackets have a short week ahead of them. They return home on Thursday to square off against the Rosamond Roadrunners at 7 p.m.