Redlands, CA—After a week in which Colton gave up a game-winning touchdown in the final minute, lost three key players to injury, and two more to suspension, they went into Bulldog Stadium at Redland High School to face the Arrowhead Christian Eagles.
Fortunately for the Yellowjackets, they bounced back hard, stepping on the Eagles in a 48-7 blowout.
“It was a good rebound week,” said head coach Ray Rodriguez. “Last week we kind of faltered there at home. We had a couple mishaps. We allowed ourselves to get out of the game at times. A couple injuries obviously hurt us as well. But we’re in a good spot. I like where we’re at, and we needed to get this game out.”
On the injury front, Colton got good news as both QB Koa Regalado—who left the game against Eisenhower at halftime—and WR Kalvin Leon were back in the starting lineup. Both players had their best games of the season
Regalado, whose status was a game time decision only had to play the first half as he led the Yellowjackets to a 35-7 halftime lead. The phenom threw for 227 yards and four touchdowns in a dominant performance.
Regalado was thankful the injury was one he was able to quickly move on from, and was grateful for those who helped him. “I want to give the biggest shoutout to Miss Jo,” he said, referring to team athletic trainer Jo Garcia. “She went out of her way all week this week to get me ready for today.”
Leon was the primary target all night, nabbing six receptions en route to 197 yards and three touchdowns. These included catching an 80-yard bomb on the first down of the Yellowjackets’ second possession, and running for a 92-yard touchdown on a five-yard pitch-out by Regalado.
“We’re just making our plays work,” Leon said. “We had a lot of adversity this week, but at the end of the day we just made it work.”
After the half, back-up QB Thomas Prieto took over under center and put up some excellent numbers as well, throwing for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Other players who stepped up against the Eagles included sophomore running back Isaiah Garcia, who ran for a 50 yard touchdown to open the game. He finished with 102 yards. Junior back Brian Morales got some carries in the second half and rushed for a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter that put Colton up 41-7. Receivers Julian Gonzalez (48 yards) and Dominick Torrez (67 yards) both caught touchdown passes.
On the defensive end, Colton found its rhythm after a rough week two, holding the Eagles to 233 total yards. Jordan Chairez and Julian Ambriz led the team with four tackles each. And Ethan Moreno nabbed an interception.
“We needed this,” Regalado said. “I’m not gonna lie. Last week was a lot of adversity, but I mean if you’ve been following us for the last three years that I’ve been here, we handle adversity great and that’s what we did this week.”
With this victory over Arrowhead Christian, Colton is now 2-1 on the season. This week, they host Palm Springs on Thursday night at Memorial Stadium. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
San Andreas League Notes
Rim of the World (2-0) def. Perris (1-2) 55-21. After a tight first quarter in which both teams scored 14, Rim separated itself by putting up 21 in the second and 20 in the third for the blowout win over Perris. Senior running back Tatum Ortiz rushed for 277 yards and five touchdowns in the victory. Rim’s next game is against Antelope Valley on Sep. 12.
Granite Hills (2-1) def. Kaiser (1-2) 37-14. The first half was a slugfest, with both team scoring touchdowns in the second quarter, but Granite Hills stepped on the gas with 27 points in the third quarter to beat Kaiser. Kaiser’s next game is against Claremont on Sep. 12.
San Gorgonio (0-2) had a bye week. They will play Redlands High on Sep. 12.
