ESCONDIDOESCONDIDO — The Palo Verde Valley High football team took the long road to another CIF section championship.
The Yellow Jackets claimed their second section crown in as many years when they used a punishing ground game to defeat Fallbrook, 33-14, in the Division IV championship game Friday night at Escondido High’s Wilson Stadium.
Seeded No. 7, Palo Verde Valley (13-1) toppled the top-seeded Warriors (9-4) by rolling up 289 yards rushing in the first half while assuming a 26-7 lead after two periods of play.
“We deserved to be a higher seed,” said senior running back Xzavier Bejarano, who rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. “We beat the No. 1 seed, the No. 2 seed and the No. 3 seed. We’re taking it one game at a time.”
The Yellow Jackets have reeled off 13 straight wins since an overtime loss to Calexico in the season opener, including playoff victories over No. 2 seed La Jolla Country Day and No. 3 seed Coronado. Their last three playoff wins have all come on the road.
“It seems like we’ve traveled more than a thousand miles the past three weeks,” said Palo Verde Valley coach Wally Grant, whose squad endured a 450-mile round trip to Escondido for the section final. “It’s taken a toll, but I can’t be any prouder of our program. We put in the work year-round.”
Palo Verde Valley scored touchdowns on its first four possessions of the game, with running backs Bejarano and Markus Macon sharing the load. Macon led all rushers with 167 yards on 14 carries, with 157 of those yards coming in the first half, including TD runs of 11 and 26 yards.
Bejarano had scoring runs of 16 and 3 yards and also played a key role on defense as the Warriors were held to 108 yards on the ground.
Another running back who made an impression on defense was Jonathan Crowe, who had a quarterback sack to thwart Fallbrook’s last threat late in the fourth period.
“We’ve been talking perfection since the beginning of the season,” said Crowe, who also had a 1-yard scoring plunge to seal the outcome with 4:32 left in the fourth period following a fumble recovery by Macon. “It’s all about executing our assignments.”
The Desert League champions came into the contest averaging 41 points per game. Last year they defeating Fallbrook 29-28 in the Division V semifinals before topping Mission Bay in the section title game. Palo Verde Valley was also a section finalist in 2004, dropping a 20-12 decision to Santa Fe Christian in the Division IV title game at Qualcomm Stadium.
Fallbrook, co-champion of the Valley League, was playing in its first section final since 2003. The Warriors won the Division I championship in 2000 in addition to the Division 3A title in 1986, but this year’s squad could not contain the double-wing offense of Palo Verde Valley.
“That’s an impressive team, and it takes a unique defensive effort to stop them,” said Fallbrook coach Ross Johnson, who guided the Warriors to their best season since 2003 in his first year at the helm. “They have the personnel with their big guys up front and two lightning-fast running backs.
“We were sloppy in a few areas, and the negative plays were difficult to overcome.”
The Warriors were coming off playoff wins over Francis Parker and Mission Bay before being derailed by Palo Verde Valley. The Warriors could get no closer after quarterback Evan Thomas connected with wide receiver Peyton Van Eik for a 17-yard touchdown midway through the third period to cut the Jackets’ lead to 26-14.
“We’re playing again next week,” Grant told his team from Blythe. “Home, away or wherever, we’ll find out on Sunday.”
Hoff is a freelance writer.
CIF FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
DIVISION IV
At Escondido HS
Palo Verde Valley 33, Fallbrook 14
Palo Verde Valley 14 12 0 7 — 33
Fallbrook 0 7 7 0 — 14
First quarter
PVV — Macon 11 run (Perez kick), 6:37
PVV — Macon 26 run (Perez kick), 2:07
Second quarter
PVV — Bejarano 16 run (kick failed), 10:01
F — J. Christopherson 1 run (Gomez kick), 4:21
PVV — Bejarano 3 run (run failed), 1:44
Third quarter
F — Van Eik 17 from Thomas (Gomez kick), 7:03
Fourth quarter
PVV — Crowe 1 run (Perez kick), 4:32
PVV F
First downs 19 14
Total net yards 336 241
Rushing 336 108
ing 0 133
Comp-Att-Int 0-0-0 7-18-1
Penalties-Yds 2-10 2-20
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Palo Verde Valley: Macon 14-167, Bejarano 23-157, Crowe 8-28, Fernandez 1-(minus-4), Albanez 4-(minus-12). Fallbrook: J. Christopherson 16-82, Bausch 7-26, Leon 7-17, Thomas 3-(minus-1), bad snap 2-(minus-16).
ING: Palo Verde Valley: None. Fallbrook: Thomas 7-18-1-133.
RECEIVING: Palo Verde Valley: None. Fallbrook: Van Eik 2-53, Farish 2-14, Bruton 1-24, Collings 1-21, W. Christopherson 1-21.
INTERCEPTIONS: Palo Verde Valley: Salazar. Fallbrook: None.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES: Palo Verde Valley: Macon. Fallbrook: None.
SACKS: Palo Verde Valley: Crowe. Fallbrook: Collings.
