Apple Valley football survives North (Torrance) in CIF-SS playoff opener

Lance Smith

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Apple Valley football survives North (Torrance) in CIF-SS playoff opener image

Lance Smith

APPLE VALLEY, Calif. – After jumping out to a convincing 14-0 first quarter lead, Apple Valley would muster just one more touchdown for the rest of Friday's playoff opener.

But that touchdown came at practically the toughest possible time – late in the fourth quarter after its opponent, North (Torrance), had clawed back to claim its only lead of the game.

It didn't make for a pretty win, but it sure made for a gutsy one as the Sun Devils edged out North 21-20 for a spot in the CIF-Southern Section Division 7 quarterfinals. And for a fairly young Apple Valley team that blew out most of its Mojave River League opponents after getting healthy and finding its stride around Week Six, a gut check was probably more valuable.

"We had some penalties that killed drives, and you can't have that happen if you want to make a run," said Apple Valley head coach Robert Meras after the game.

"We also gotta tackle better. We didn't have a great tackling game, and this might've been the worst game for our secondary all year. But we didn't give up. We kept fighting like we always do."

For a tough tackling night, a tough secondary night, and a game with no shortage of penalties, allowing just 20 points to a speedy Saxons offense that can strike in spurts was no joke for Apple Valley's defense. It makes sense, however, given that the Sun Devils have only allowed more than 21 points once in 11 games.

At first, it looked like Apple Valley was going to run away with this one. The Sun Devils found the end zone four minutes into the game on a touchdown pass from Brent Lanning to Davion Swan-Satterwhite on 4th-and-10 from about 30 yards out. And after forcing a turnover on downs, they went up 14-0 with 40 seconds left in the quarter when Jewelein Washington rumbled several yards through the defense for a touchdown.

Through one quarter, it looked like Apple Valley was too big and tough around the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball for North to find its groove. But the next two-plus quarters were all Saxons.

North's defensive swarm organized itself after Apple Valley's second score, using its quickness to eat up Lanning's time and space in the passing game and disrupt the Sun Devils' methodical running attack. Apple Valley penalties helped ignite North's offense, which finally found pay dirt with 65 seconds left in the first half on a short pass from Ethan Edwards to Kchole Mataele-Juarez.

The Saxons continued building momentum on defense in the third quarter and made it a one-score game with 5:37 left in the period when Edwards finished off a long, tense drive with a two-yard rushing touchdown.

They trailed 14-12 due to a missed PAT on their first touchdown and opted for a two-point conversion, but Apple Valley denied it and held onto the lead for a while longer. Its defense's job got harder, however, after a botched long snap and/or punt that led to North taking over at Apple Valley's 34. North took its only lead of the game on the next play as Edwards found Eric Dandridge Jr. Wide open running into the end zone on some blown coverage, followed by a two-point conversion. That put the Saxons up 20-14 with 19 seconds left in the third.

During the flurry of just over a quarter in which North scored all its points, Edwards still wasn't swimming in time and space to pass or scramble. But as the game necessitated that he take some risks, he rose to the occasion and made plays.

Down the stretch of the fourth quarter, Apple Valley resumed tackling effectively like it did early in the game, and its defensive backfield got more aggressive. It was enough to just barely keep North off the board. The Saxons were threatening to make it a two-score game halfway through the fourth, but Apple Valley turned them over on downs near the red zone and then ripped off two of the top plays of the night.

The first was a run of about 40 yards to North's 17 by Jacob Cabrera, which regalvanized the offense and led to a go-ahead two-yard plow from Nathan Arceo with 2:40 left in the game.

And the second was an end zone interception by Lorenzo Johnson to ice the game with 42 seconds left, cementing Apple Valley's 21-20 victory. 

For a North team that showed just as much guts in nearly stealing the victory as Apple Valley did in saving it, the loss couldn't have been much more gutting.

The young Sun Devils, on the other hand, will go forward with this vivid reminder that a handful of penalties and missed tackles could be the difference between a blowout win and a crushing loss.

Speaking of crushing losses, Apple Valley lost its Bell Game to traditional rival Victor Valley this season for the first time since 2010 as the Jackrabbits had their second breakthrough season in a row and upset Apple Valley 21-14 on the road on Sep. 12. Next week, the Sun Devils will go one town down the road themselves and look to return the favor as one of the High Desert's longer-running rivalries has a chance to continue rising to the forefront in this CIF-SS D7 quarterfinal.

"The football gods have given you the opportunity to make a wrong a right next week at Victor," Meras told his players following the win over North.

"Every single one of you guys asked for that. It's going to come down to who can make an open field tackle and rally to the ball."

"It's a rivalry that's been going on forever," Meras told SN after the game.

"[Victor Valley] took it to us this year and won the rivalry game, so right now they're the better team. Hats off to their coaching staff and players. They played tough last time we played them, and I'm going to expect the same thing from them next week."

Apple Valley football

Lance Smith

Apple Valley football

Lance Smith

Apple Valley football

Lance Smith

Apple Valley football

Lance Smith

North Torrance football

Lance Smith

North Torrance football

Lance Smith

Senior Editor