With momentum seemingly switching sides, what had been a run-happy Holtvile High School football team turned to an old friend: the touchdown .
Sophomore quarterback Alonso Cuevas threw a pair of fourth-quarter TD es and fellow sophomore Enrique Armas ran for what proved to be the winning touchdown late in the game as the Vikings subdued Army-Navy Academy, 27-21, in the inaugural CIF Division 5-AA championship game on Saturday.
The long trip from the Imperial Valley to Escondido High School’s Chick Embrey Field proved to be worthwhile for a Holtville squad which followed up a Desert League championship by claiming the school’s seventh San Diego Section crown and its first in 10 years while finishing with a 9-2 record.
“I’m very proud for all of our seniors,” said Cuevas, who redeemed himself impressively in the second half after throwing an interception late in the first half which led to an Army-Navy score. Cuevas completed 6 of 7 es in the second half for 81 yards, including touchdown throws of 13 yards to Alan Carrillo and 12 yards to Bradyn Terrill just four minutes apart as Holtville overcame a 14-7 deficit.
“This had been a resilient group all season,” said Vikings coach Jason Turner, whose team finished the season with seven consecutive wins. “We were losing 14-0 to Palo Verde before coming back to win, and we barely beat Vincent Memorial with 1.1 seconds to go.
“But Army-Navy is no joke with that big wall on defense. That’s why we went to a seven-man front with all linemen and no tight ends. We knew we had to run the ball on them.”
The result was a running game which included 145 yards on 21 carries by Armas, an additional 81 yards on 16 attempts by senior running back Griffin Garcia, and 58 yards on nine rushes by Cuevas, who completed just 1 of 4 es for 5 yards in the first half before finding his touch in the second half and finishing with 20 touchdown es for the season.
“When we do good as running backs, it’s the of the offensive line,” said Armas, whose 4-yard touchdown run with 3:35 remaining in the fourth quarter came six plays after a clutch interception by senior Bryce Buscaglia for his fourth pick of the season. “It’s my teammates who make me work harder.”
The two teams battled to a 7-7 stalemate in the first half despite the fact that Holtville ran 20 more offensive plays than Army-Navy. The Vikings scored on their first possession by marching 63 yards on 13 plays to a 3-yard touchdown run by Garcia.
The scoring drive was kept alive on the previous play, when Cuevas connected with Terrill for a 5-yard on fourth-and-4 from the 8-yard line. It was Holtville’s only attempt during the drive.
After going three-and-out on their first offensive series, the Warriors picked up a first-and-goal at the Holtville 5-yard line following a 51-yard run by Tonton Drobny down the right sideline. The Vikings’ defense stiffened there, stopping four straight running plays and forcing a turnover on downs at the 2.
Following an exchange of possessions, Holtville took over at the Army-Navy 36 with 1 minute remaining in the first half following a Warriors punt from their own 9. On first down, Cuevas was intercepted by Army-Navy’s Eugenio Elordoy, who returned the theft 74 yards to the Holtville 9-yard line.
The pick was the fourth of the season for Elordoy, and although Holtville’s Maddox Toten ed a quarterback sack on first down, the Army-Navy offense finally responded with a 15-yard scoring from Carlos Ramirez to Landon Schrom on a fade to the right corner of the end zone with just 23 seconds to go before halftime to knot the score at 7-7.
Army-Navy took the second-half kickoff and marched 84 yards on 11 plays while chewing up 7½ minutes on the clock. Ramirez, a junior, completed 6 of 6 es on the drive, including three completions to Nehemiah Brunson Jr. of 17, 19 and 11 yards before Ramirez scored on a 1-yard sneak for a 14-7 Warriors lead.
Holtville responded with touchdowns on its next three possessions, and after Ramirez and Brunson hooked up for a 25-yard TD with 2:28 left to close the margin to 27-21, the Vikings were able to run out the clock with the help of a 17-yard completion from Cuevas to Buscaglia on third-and-6 from their own 17.
“We still have a ways to go, but we’re going to get there,” said Army-Navy coach Nehemiah Brunson, whose team finished with an 8-4 mark. “This is the first time we’ve made it this far to a section final in 45 years and we have a lot of underclassmen, so we’re going to be fun to watch next year.”
The Warriors’ three previous losses were to a Division II team (Bishop’s), and two Division III teams (La Jolla Country Day, Santa Fe Christian). They reached the section final with a 50-0 semifinal romp over Tri-City Christian.
Holtville, seeded No. 1 for the Division 5-AA playoffs and a 49-0 winner over Maranatha Christina in the semifinals, previously earned Class 1A section titles in 1984 and from 1989-92, and a Division 5 crown in 2013.
Holtville 27, Army-Navy 21
Army-Navy Academy 0 7 7 7 — 21
Holtville 7 0 0 20 — 27
H — Garcia 3 run (Armas kick)
ANA —Schrom 15 from Ramirez (Drobny kick)
ANA —Ramirez 1 run (Drobny kick)
H — Carillo 13 from Cuevas (Armas kick)
H — Terrill 12 from Cuevas (Armas kick)
H — Armas 4 run (kick failed)
ANA — Brunson 25 from Ramirez (Drobny kick)
