Valley College Football Struck early and held on to defeat Compton, 46-38

The Monarchs scored 19-straight points against Compton in the first quarter sending the visitors back home with a loss. 

By Alex Diaz, Sports Editor

Freshman wide receiver Ben Baker rushed to make a touchdown at the 20-yard line. (Taylor Cowhey for The Valley Star)

As the sun dipped behind Monarch Stadium and the heat gave way to cooling air, the Valley College's football team scorched Compton College for 46 points and evened their record 1-1. 

The Monarchs struck early, jumping out to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter. Daylen Ortiz's 39-yard field goal put Valley up 3-0 at the 13:03 mark. Wide receiver Dominic Arango-Serna pulled in a 38-yard pass from quarterback Gavin Goulette, extending the lead to 12-0.

 As the quarter drew to a close, quarterback Daryus Warren hit wide receiver Ben Baker for a 1-yard touchdown giving the Monarchs the commanding 19-0 lead.

“Just win,” said Daylen Ortiz. “Anything the team needed me to do, I make it happen and executed.”

The big lead allowed everyone to see action during Saturday’s game. 

“We played everybody,” said Head Coach Lester Towns. “There were a lot of emotions last week, Now coming into this week they were ready to play.”

In the second quarter, Compton's wide receiver John Brown took in a 99-yards pass from Tarter quarterback Malachi Betters to cut the Monarch lead to 19-7 with 9:40 left in the half. 

Valley increased its lead when quarterback Christian Flores ran the ball in from the 1-yard line, making the score 25-7. Valley missed the extra point. 

Building on this momentum, Goulette delivered a 61-yard pass to wide receiver Dominic Arango-Serna, increasing the lead to 32-7.

Following the third quarter, the Tartars wide receiver Sean Thompson sent a 5-yard pass to Betters and completed a 2-point conversion rush leaving the score at 39-22.

“They were a great team,” said Tevon Mitchell. “They were things I wanted to improve from last week, this week I wanted to play perfect since every moment counts.”

In the final, quarterback Ahmias Hart delivered a pass to wide receiver Tevon Mitchell, marking the score 46-22 with a successful kick from Ortiz. Compton tried to reel back in points to win but failed, ending the game at 46-38.

“The plan is to enjoy tonight, it's our first win,” emphasized coach Towns. “We need to find the holes, patch them up, and build our game plan to go against Victor Valley.”

The Monarchs look to improve its record Saturday when it faces Victor Valley College at home. Valley will also host its annual Hall of Fame Barbecue at  5 p.m., with kick-off set for 6 p.m.