It could be said that defenses ruled the day in Friday night's Pioneer Valley/Village Christian non-league football game, but that wouldn't be telling the entire story.

Instead, the team that did all the little things and took advantage of opponent mistakes - the visiting Crusaders - got the victory, while the team that made those mistakes heads into its first-ever Los Padres League game facing some tough questions.

Village Christian took full advantage of situations throughout the game, using big plays to score a 27-7 road win

Pioneer Valley dropped to 2-1 on the season thanks in part to five big turnovers, two of which led to VC scores. The offense managed only 221 yards of total offense, getting into a true rhythm only once all night, just out of halftime.

“Our kids battled, but (Village Christian) made the big plays when they needed to,” Panthers coach Greg Dickinson said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”

Christopher Handy led the way for the Crusaders(1-1) with 136 yards on 28 carries, grinding out 97 of those yards in the second half to wear down a Panthers defense that spent most of the night on the field.

“Chris ran hard,” Village Christian coach Marty Martin said. “Last week, we put up almost 400 yards of offense, and lost (a 27-22 loss to Twentynine Palms). Chris played like he's capable of playing tonight.”

Advertisement

Village Christian threw the knockout punch late in the third quarter on two big miscues by Pioneer Valley: The first came when QB/punter Brian Beyers had a punt blocked on a fourth-and-five at its own 39-yard line. Beyers scrambled back and, instead of kicking the ball out of the end zone to save field position in what was a 13-7 game at that point, fell on the ball, giving the Crusaders the ball at the Panther one. Handy bulled in from one yard out on the next play, giving Village Christian a 20-7 lead.

The next big play came two drives later, when a Beyers fumble on a questionable option pitch was recovered by Village Christian's Kyle McDaris at the Crusader 41. The visitors then marched 59 yards on five plays, capped by Handy's four-yard run to finalize the scoring.

“It was big, maybe the turning point of the game,” Martin said of the turnover battle, which the Crusaders won 5-3.

Also hindering the Panthers' effort was the injury bug, which has hit Pioneer Valley in some important spots. Sophomore speedster Eric Silvas was lost for the season in last week's win over Knight of Palmdale with torn knee ligaments, while tight end Aaron Hernandez - the team's top receiver - was held out another week to a tender knee. Speedy linebacker Buddy Garcia saw very limited action, while runner Frank Tovar was dinged up and was held out for most of the second half.

Still, Dickinson said that he had his reasons for sitting those key players, namely in saving them for the Panthers' LPL opener next weekend at Cabrillo.

“We knew we were taking a chance (by holding those guys out),” Dickinson said. “We want to be healthy going into league, which is the most important thing.”

The second half saw Pioneer Valley's only real sustained drive of the night, coming on its first possession of the third quarter. The Panthers used eight straight run plays to get to the Crusaders' seven, only to stall out and fall short of any points when Andres Montiel's 29-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.

Apart from that drive, the only bright spot for the Panthers offensively came on the opening kickoff, when Shane Vogt scampered through the kick coverage and ran off a 90-yard return for a score, sending the home crowd into a tizzy.

Something that brought them back to earth were several drops by Panther receivers. Five of Beyers' 26 attempts were dropped by receivers on very catchable plays. The Panthers' longest play from scrimmage was a 48-yard bomb from Beyers to running back Josiah Morales in the fourth quarter, but it was wiped out when Beyers' next pass was tipped at the line and fell into the chest of Crusader linebacker Khalil Bass, who had been shoved to his back earlier on the play.

Village Christian's first touchdown came on the first of its big plays when quarterback Rex Reinhard, facing a fourth-and-23 at the Panthers' 34, lobbed a pass to the end zone for McDaris, who beat two Panther defenders for the catch and the touchdown.

Another Beyers fumble set up the next score when it was scooped up by Bass and returned to the Pioneer Valley two. Village Christian took three shots on the ground, only to be stood up by PV's defense. However, Handy was able to nudge the ball across for a score on the fourth-down play. Still, the defense got in the last word when Vogt blocked Brendan Kelly's PAT attempt.

Pioneer Valley's leading rusher was Morales, managing only 39 yards on six carries, followed by Victor Bryson' 35 yards on 11 carries.

Sept. 16, 2006