Monte Vista Can't Keep Up with Host Del Norte

When dawn broke Friday, Monte Vista High School football coach Page Culver did not know if his team would play its scheduled game at Del Norte High School. By the end of the night, the Monarchs had suffered their own power outage, losing 35-7.

Thursday’s power outage that left 1.4 million SDG&E customers without electricity had led the San Diego County Office of Education to cancel classes Friday throughout the county and to call off all scheduled athletic events. But by mid-morning, the power was on and football under the lights was possible.

With the win, Del Norte improved to 1-1 on the season. The Monarchs fell to 1-1 after the nonleague battle.

“We got our tails whipped by a better team,” a tightlipped Culver said.  Culver said turnovers and poor punts were the Monarchs’ undoing. Monte Vista turned the ball over twice on fumbles and once via interception.

The Monarchs also presented Del Norte with a short field after punts of 14, 18, 22, and 7 yards.

“Last week we won because of the punting game,” Culver said. “This week we lost because of the punting game."

On defense, the Nighthawks got a big game from defensive lineman Brett Johnson, who recorded a pair of sacks. Sophomore Spencer Pennington also trapped Monte Vista QB Israel Suarez behind the line of scrimmage. Del Norte’s Adam Joyce and Chris Lopez each recovered a fumble, and Anthony Rios-Carlsen intercepted a Rios pass.

The lone offensive highlight for Monte Vista came early in the fourth quarter, when Eric Owens dashed 44 yards for a touchdown. Anthony Suarez booted the extra point, closing the score to 29-7 with 10:36 left in the game.

Owens also turned in a defensive highlight, intercepting a Dion pass in the second quarter and returning it 40 yards to the Nighthawks 36-yard line. But Rios-Carlsen’s interception squashed the threat.

Del Norte High School coach Leigh Cole said he was particularly pleased with the way the Nighthawks finished the game on the ground with a 12-play, 92-yard drive that chewed up 8 minutes and 36 second of the fourth quarter. Sophomore Patrick Zeller capped the drive with a 30-yard TD sweep around right end with 1:42 left in the game.

“That was a game-winner,” Cole said of the drive. “Most definitely, I like to keep the ball on the ground.”

It was Zeller’s second TD run of the game. He dashed 4 yards with 8:08 to go in the third quarter, a score that put Del Norte Up 27-0.

Cole further explained that by pounding the ball on the ground, the Del Norte offense sets up the pass, especially to the tight end. Nighthawks junior quarterback Dion Alexander benefited from his coach’s formula, pitching two scoring strikes to tight end Chad Wetzel.

Alexander hit Wetzel on an 8-yard TD strike with 8:53 left in the first quarter. Alexander also passed 8 yards to Wetzel for a TD that made the score 20-0 in the third quarter.

Sandwiched between Wetzel’s two TDs was a 14-yard touchdown rumble by tailback Jared Skinner.