RAMONA ---- Coming off their only loss of the season, a one-point defeat against Valley Center, the eighth-ranked Bulldogs rebounded Friday night with a 35-13 Valley League triumph over Westview. Tyler Jackson scored a career-high four rushing touchdowns and Ryan Morgan ran for 154 yards as the Bulldogs (8-1, 4-1) returned to winning form.
"Maybe the loss kind of helped us," said Jackson, who scored on runs of 2, 1, 3 and 8 yards for Ramona. "It made us hungry to get a win tonight. We bounced back pretty good."
An interception by Nate Lutu set up a 30-yard touchdown run by Morgan on Ramona's second play of the second half. The Bulldogs finished with 237 rushing yards.
"I owe it all to the offensive line," said Jackson, who rushed for 64 yards on 15 carries and indicated he had never scored four TDs in a game before Friday night.
"We played Bulldog football in the second half, but we have to learn to play strong for four quarters," Bulldogs coach Damon Baldwin said. "I'm proud of the way we played after a sloppy first half."
Ramona finishes the regular season next Friday at top-ranked Oceanside, which rolled to a 45-7 win Friday over previously unbeaten Valley Center. Ramona and Oceanside battled to a memorable 33-33 tie last year at Ramona, the only blemish on the Pirates' 12-0-1 title campaign.
"We're looking forward to the matchup with Oceanside," Baldwin said. "The league championmship is at stake again."
"We'll need another real good week of practice," added Morgan.
Westview (3-6, 1-4) has lost five straight going into the regular-season finale against Mt. Carmel. The Wolverine managed just two field goals by Brenden Watson, before reaching the end zone midway through the third quarter on a 65-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Eric Beagle to Tyler Barclay. Westview had just 11 yards rushing.
Ramona started the game with an 11-play, 63-yard drive, which ended with Jackson's first touchdown.
A 42-yard field goal by Watson made it 7-3 with 8:55 left in the first half, but Ramona scored again seven plays and 33 yards later.
Watson kicked a 40-yard field goal as time elapsed in the first half to make it 14-6.
Any momentum the Wolverines had gained was erased on Morgan's touchdown run. The defense put the game out of reach thanks to a 10-yard sack by John Yorba on Westview's next possession. The defensive stand led to Jackson's third touchdown, which made it 28-6 with 7:01 left in the third quarter.
