GIULIANO ORSI, MITTY
Prep2Prep Student Contributor

October 1, 2016

SAN JOSE – In double overtime, senior wideout Anthony Flores snagged a 10-yard throw on second down from Valley Christian quarterback Miles Kendrick to take a 38-31 lead, and the Warriors' defense held on for the win, keeping Mitty off the board to preserve the victory.

Valley Christian (5-0, 2-0 WCAL), led by 12th-year head coach Mike Machado, was behind Mitty for almost all of regulation. A couple key mistakes by the Warriors were capitalized by Mitty, which dug Valley Christian into an early 10-0 hole. Nonetheless, the Warriors were able to claw their way back and keep a clean sheet in their loss column.

“We made too many early mistakes," said Machado. "Mitty’s a good football team, and they came out better than we did. But we made up for it tonight."

Their offense has a run-first mentality, yet when the passing was needed, Miles Kendrick was able to step up and make the plays. Valley racked up exactly 300 yards on the ground, and only 70 in the air. However, all 70 of those passing yards came in the fourth quarter and overtimes, and all five of Kendrick’s completions were to one target – Flores.

“You have to take advantage of all the passing we get, based on what happens. Miles is a beast, on and off the field,” said Flores after his clutch performance.

The Warrior wideout finished with those 70 yards and two touchdowns, while Kendrick went 5 of 7 with both touchdowns thrown to Flores. The first score was a clutch 22-yard slant that Flores snagged and stretched out to tie the game with under a minute to go. The next score would be the final touchdown by either team, a 10-yd score in the second session of overtime from Kendrick to Flores in the left corner of the end zone.

Rushing the ball was a success for the Warriors, as usual. Their 300 yards on the ground was led by senior tailback Javon Sturns, who finished with 133 yards on 29 carries along with three scores. Sturns’ touchdowns were all within just four yards or less of the goal-line.

Sturns was the first to get the Warriors on the board when they were down early, on a four-yard punch-in that closed the gap of Mitty’s lead 10-7 just before the half. The senior running back had another four-yard score late in the fourth quarter that gave Valley Christian its only lead in regulation, and then was able to get a two-yard rush in the first series of overtime.

“We don’t crush under pressure,” said Sturns after the win. “We came out with a better mindset in the second half and played true Warrior football.”

As for the Monarchs, their offense was almost the opposite. Senior quarterback Phillip Tran has been throwing the football well all season, and continued his consistent play with 194 yards and three scores on 19 of 32 passing. Two of his touchdowns were in the air, while another came on the ground.

Tran’s first touchdown came in the first quarter, and was a slightly over-thrown lob to sophomore two-way star Joseph Vaughn, who dove to snag the ball mid-air and landed in the end zone. The score had come after a Kendrick interception, and pushed their lead to 10-0. Tran’s next two scores both came in crunch time. Valley held a late lead in the fourth, but it would be brief, as Tran barreled his way for a seven-yard touchdown. Mitty’s 24-17 lead would be followed up by Flores' clutch grab, which sent the game to overtime. On fourth down in the first session of overtime, Tran was able to complete a five-yard pass to senior Austin Kause. However, the Monarchs were bested in the second session, and couldn’t match another clutch Kendrick-to-Flores touchdown.

“We have a tough league ahead of us, so all we can do is shake this off. It’s a tough loss,” said Tran. “We played our hearts out, and we learned from this game. It shows what kind of team we are.”

Both teams are on the road next week, with Valley set up to face Archbishop Riordan on the road on Saturday at 2 pm. Mitty (3-2, 1-1) tries to bounce back as they also play a day game next Saturday, which is against St. Ignatius.

“These guys are winners,” says coach Kent Burns about his Monarch squad. “We closed the gap from who we were last year, and I give Valley credit for making the last plays we weren’t able to make.”