Even with a bye week coming up, the Westmont football team will be riding high heading into its BVAL-Santa Teresa opener October 2 at Oak Grove (7 pm). The Warriors overcame a 24-6 fourth-quarter deficit to post a 28-24 Homecoming win over Independence on September 18.
Quarterback Lucas Soliz hit Liam Keyser for a pair of touchdown passes to spark the rally, while sophomore Jaxon Antolin led the ground game with 156 yards rushing and a touchdown on 15 carries. With the win, the youthful Warriors concluded the non-league portion of their schedule with a 3-1 mark under first-year coach Stephen Johnson, formerly of Branham. It was the first loss of the season for Independence (3-1).
Westmont will take on an Oak Grove team coming off back-to-back wins over Fremont and Mt. Pleasant. The Eagles are predominantly a running team, led by junior Noah Vierra, who has rushed for 261 yards and two touchdowns on 55 attempts. Junior quarterback Jackson McCoy has thrown for 299 yards and one touchdown, with most of the aerial attack going through senior John Baluyot, who has caught 13 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns.
Many of Westmont’s top contributors are non-seniors, led by Soliz, a junior who has thrown for 450 yards and six touchdowns. Antolin leads the team with 336 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while Keyser, another junior, has been the top receiving target with 11 catches for 162 yards.
Both teams played Fremont during the preseason, with Oak Grove edging the Firebirds 16-14 on September 11, and Westmont shutting them out 22-0 the week before.
