RANCHO VERDE 13, MURRIETA VALLEY 12: Mustangs rally for last-minute win
By ED WEHDE - Staff Writer | ∞
MURRIETA ---- Clinging to a six-point lead late in the fourth quarter, Murrieta Valley needed one more stop from a defense that played its heart out all night. The Nighthawks didn't get that stop and fell to Moreno Valley Rancho Verde, 13-12, at Murrieta Valley on Friday.
"Our kids played well, but we had one breakdown," Murrieta coach Greg Ireland said.
That breakdown came on a fourth-and-6 play from the Nighthawks' 12-yard line with 46 seconds left in the game. Mustangs senior Terrance Miller ran past his defender up the left sideline and sophomore quarterback Travis Champion hit him in stride for a 12-yard touchdown pass that tied the game. Lalo Hernandez's extra point gave Rancho Verde (3-0) the one-point win.
Click here for boxscore
"There was a whole lot of excitement, and I just had to make a play," Miller said. "It was a great job by the quarterback, a great job by the offensive line and a great job by the defense."
The last play erased an otherwise stellar effort by the Nighthawks defense. Murrieta (1-1) held the Mustangs to 13 yards and two first downs in the first half, when Champion missed on all seven of his pass attempts.
Despite dominating the first half with 159 yards of offense and 11 first downs, the Nighthawks managed just nine points. Lyle Negron, who finished with 79 yards rushing on 24 carries and completed 7-of-11 throws for 93 yards, capped Murrieta's first possession with a 1-yard TD plunge.
The Nighthawks added a safety after they downed a punt inside the Mustangs' 1-yard line, and two plays later, Stuart Hielscher and Ryan Rutherford combined to tackle Daniel Jenkins in the end zone.
Murrieta drove to a 27-yard field goal on its first second-half possession to take a 12-0 lead but was shut out during the final 15 minutes of the game.
Rancho Verde had just two second-half possessions but drove to TDs on both of them. Jenkins, who finished with 80 yards on 22 carries, got the Mustangs in the game with a 6-yard TD run with 10 minutes left.
Three penalties on the Nighthawks' next drive ---- including an ineligible man down field call that wiped out a 90-yard TD catch and run by Jordan Drake ---- helped the Mustangs get the ball back at their own 19 with 3:47 left. From there, they drove to the winning score.
"They have great athletes," Ireland said. "We kept them under control for so long, but we got snakebit in the second half. They earned those scores. They have great athletes."
Contact staff writer Ed Wehde at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2633 or ewehde@californian.com.
More Stories
Advertisement
MV Dad wrote on Sep 20, 2008 6:17 AM:Kids played great to bad the refs spoiled the game with questionable calls.
Concerned wrote on Sep 20, 2008 8:28 AM:Anyone know how the RV player who got injured while celebrating after the game is doing? I heard he was taken to the hospital with spine injuries (possibly neck).
what happened wrote on Sep 20, 2008 10:35 AM:What happened to the MVHS big o-lineman #67 that I saw at the Fallbrook game?
hmmmm wrote on Sep 20, 2008 11:51 AM:#67 Eric Hamilton was nowhere to be seen. Not even on the sidelines. I don’t know what happened to him. He’s huge on that line, and was missed. Although, his replacement John Gurtz did a fantastic job. Maybe if and when Hamilton returns, they move him to RT instead of RG.
friend of 4 wrote on Sep 20, 2008 12:00 PM:GO MVHS!!
Great game, except when rancho verde smacked one of our teamates, and no foul or anything was called. Lame!!
Everyone had a great game!
Go Lyle, Vince, and Jordan
mv wrote on Sep 20, 2008 2:30 PM:how sad they lost
nathan took them to their first win
and lyle to their first lost
hmmm2 wrote on Sep 20, 2008 4:11 PM:The O Line control the line of scrimmage. Go Nighthawks!!!
Hamilton broke thumb and he was on the sidelines. Great Game Nighthawks!!!
VMHS Supporter wrote on Sep 20, 2008 6:21 PM:MV fans..Shouldn't blame the refs for the loss. Take a cue from the Chargers game and just move on. You could have won if you would not have let RV scor ein the last minute. You guys are in for a tough season.
MV FAN wrote on Sep 20, 2008 7:30 PM:VMHS Supporter stay out of MV's business! We will pound and beat down you guys: (aka ponies) on the last game of the season Varsity (Super easy),
JV(very easy) and Freshman(very, very easy). Just be ready to watch us take the SW League title and head to the playoffs while VM coaches, players, and fans will be grazing on grass and horse feed.
bobbydigital wrote on Sep 20, 2008 8:56 PM:I decided to take a trip to Heritage High schools first ever home varsity game and i just have one thing to say...... DANG!!! These boys only have juniors no seniors and wow what an impressive performance. IE watch out for this young talented squad led by juniors.
Heritage wrote on Sep 20, 2008 9:20 PM:Heritage?
They will never compete w/ the SWL. Try commenting on a Sunbelt team.
LOL
Heritage? LOL LOL LOL
VMHS wrote on Sep 21, 2008 11:01 AM:To mv fan: What you wrote is so typical. I am guessing you are freshman at mv due to the lack of maturity in your post. Thanks for the great laugh.
VMHS Fan wrote on Sep 23, 2008 9:27 AM:Why so interested in MV? You're right we can't blame the refs, but the kids played a heck of a game. This program is starting to come together, they are learning new systems and working their butts off. The boys/program are still trying to recover from the disaster named Lance Neal. We will get better and hopefully show you guys a good game at our place this year.
VMHS wrote on Sep 23, 2008 2:32 PM:I am interested in both high schools (soon to be 3!) that represent the city of Murrieta since I know kids on both sides of the schools boundries. I think what VMHS Fan was trying to say is that in any sport, the outcome of the game usually isn't because of the refs. I understand the defense played an amazing game and the offense finally pulled it together in the second half. It is nice to see the program get better and thrive. The games played between VM and MV are always fun, it is great to see the citizens of Murrieta come out and enjoy the Friday night lights! Good luck to Murrieta Valley this week!
Advertisement