Several flags and turnovers left Valley College unable to build offensive momentum in the final minutes of the game, resulting in a loss to Victor Valley.
By Kevin Khachatryan, Staff Writer
The Monarchs held on to the Rams last Saturday, keeping the game within one possession but suffering 120 yards in holding penalties and ultimately losing 34-38.
Both Valley College (1-4) and Victor College (2-3) were playing for another win on Saturday afternoon in a thrilling exhibition match. In the first three minutes of the game, Rams freshman quarterback Tyler Karen threw a 64 yard pass to receiver Juan Gutierrez after an offside penalty against Valley which resulted in a touchdown. The Monarchs lost critical yards due to holding calls while the Rams' impressive offense was productive enough to keep a commanding lead and come away with a 38-34 victory.
“Our offensive line is beat up,” said head coach Lester Towns. “We’re getting holding calls because we have a lot of injuries. They’re so beat up, what I’m seeing is that the guys are trying, but they're having to hold because they can’t move.’’
The Monarchs passing game was struggling to get past the Rams secondary. The running game for Valley went full throttle when Running back Michael Clark rushed 41 yards in 6 plays to score a touchdown cutting the deficit to four. Finishing the game with one running touchdown and rushing for 129 yards.
Even with the Rams quarterback finishing the game with a whopping five touchdowns, 294 passing yards and a 60 percent completion rate, Valley nearly managed to comeback and win the game. A total of 12 penalties for Victor Valley resulting in 164 rushing yards for the Monarchs played a big role in the game coming down to the wire.
Down by 22 in the 3rd quarter, the Monarchs went on a 18-0 run, scoring three consecutive touchdowns but failing to convert extra point attempts. Holding the Rams scoreless in the fourth, Valley gained momentum to overcome the deficit a little too late, as the clock ran down and the offense had no time to score.
Scoring four consecutive touchdowns late in the game and forcing multiple defensive stops looked like the Monarchs turned the table around to sneak away with a close win, but committing 15 penalties and allowing 120 yards for the Rams was a big key in why they couldn’t stay on top.
The Rams ran the clock down to thirty-six seconds, leaving Valley helpless to the running clock as they had exhausted all of their timeouts.
“We’re gonna take it one game at a time,” said Towns. “Half the team is injured right now, what we need is treatment and rest to recover and be better energized.”
Valley will now look to recover against second place Antelope Valley College on Oct.15 at 1 p.m at home.
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