It was 90 degrees Saturday morning when the Avalon Lancers football team took to the field in Downey to face their toughest opponent of the season, the Calvary Chapel Downey Grizzlies.
This was a matchup that had a lot of attention and for some good reasons. The Grizzlies were undefeated, rolling over every opponent that they faced with the offense scoring 238 points and their defense allowing only 35. With a 6 foot 2 inch QB, a 6 foot 3 inch TE and a 200-plus pound FB, the Lancers were outsized and on top of all of that it was senior day for the Grizzlies. But the biggest reason why this game was so publicized was because this was a league matchup where both teams had to fight to win to get the opportunity to be in the first place spot.
The Grizzlies had the ball first and drove down the field 65 yards scoring right away. The Lancers knew they had to react quickly and did exactly that. The Grizzlies kicked off to the Lancers and Beto Martinez returned the ball 73 yards for their first score. The Grizzlies once again scored on the Lancers defense and the Lancers offense answered back. Halftime found the score to be 12-12, in Avalon’s favor.
Avalon came back out ready for the second half and the Lancers defense was solid. DE Pablo Chavolla anchored his side of the field while Calvin Rios, Diego Rios and Cristo Hernandez were relentless forcing the QB to scramble and throw. Linebackers Jose Silva, Jason Campos and DeAngelo Reyes shut down any kind of back field attack which then allowed CB’s Angel Hernandez, Beto Martinez and Jose Gomez to come alive.
Late in the fourth quarter the Grizzlies started marching down the field with the goal of tying the game. On a 4th and 24 with seconds left in the game the Lancers had their final test.
The Grizzlies QB cocked back and threw the ball deep into the end zone where Lancers CB Jose Gomez jumped up, intercepted the ball and sealed Avalon’s victory.
Jose Gomez passed for 109 yards, three touchdowns and had 65 yards on the ground. Beto Martinez scored twice as well as Jason Campos on the ground.
Avalon ends their regular season with an 8-1 record which is a complete turnaround from last season when the Lancers only won two games. “This is the same team, with the same focus and same heart as last season. We won 2 games last year but that was not going to be the story of this season. These players took advantage of a hard offseason and have earned every success that they have achieved thus far and I could not be more proud of them” said head coach Michael Forcella.
The Lancers have a bye this week and enter the playoffs on Nov 2. The opponent and location will be announced on Sunday, Oct. 28.
