GIULIANO ORSI, MITTY
Prep2Prep Student Contributor

December 12, 2016

SAN JOSE - The first half of the CIF 2-AA North Regional Final played out very close, but it was Valley Christian pulling away for the 31-6 victory and a berth in the CIF championship against Madison-San Diego.

With Cardinal Newman on the road and within one score late in the second quarter, the Cardinals were looking to close the four-point gap between them and the Warriors before the half ended. However, Valley Christian senior wideout Anthony Flores showcased his ability on the defensive side of the ball by intercepting a Jordon Brookshire pass to set up a 15-yard run by Warrior quarterback Miles Kendrick to stretch Valley’s lead to two scores after two quarters.

The Warriors carried that lead with them into the second half, and shut down the Cardinals by a final score of 31-6 at home to be crowned kings of the north.

Kendrick showed up huge for his team, racking up 58 yards in the air on 5-of-8 pass attempts, while stealing the show on the ground with 129 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Warriors ran multiple quarterback draws throughout the night, including one that led to a 66-yard gallop to the end zone earlier in the second quarter for Kendrick.

“We have a great line,” said Kendrick. “Those guys are battling injuries, but they keep fighting. Those guys are my brothers- they make my job easy.”

Along with Kendrick’s performance, the entire team was unstoppable with the run game, going for just under 300 yards. Each of the four Warrior touchdowns scores came from Kendrick and Javon Sturns. The senior tailback tallied 87 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, and stepped up while also knowing it could’ve been the last time the group of seniors played together.

“We knew this was the last time we’d ever play on this field," Sturns said. "So we came in undefeated here and wanted to stay that way.”

The offensive line of Valley Christian is not fun to face, with guys like 6’4” 325 pound senior Dylan McCreery blocking the pathway to Kendrick all night. Although the excellent line had been dealing with ups and downs and a few injuries as well, they showed their best when it mattered most.

“It’s the same mindset every week. We come into practice every day knowing that we’re a better unit than anyone in the state of California,” said McCreery. “We prepare with the best coach, Ron Stone, and makes us go places we sometimes think we can’t go.”

Perhaps the most impressive part of Valley’s play on Friday night was their defensive effort, especially in the second half. Cardinal Newman was able to get their offense moving throughout the first couple quarters, behind solid play from Brookshire. Brookshire threw for 11-of-20 for 86 yards and one rushing touchdown, but in the second half, the Cardinals totaled just five yards of offense. Cardinal Newman finished with just 33 total rushing yards, and looked completely shut down after having racked up 118 total yards in the first half.

Brookshire accounted for 114 of the 118 yards as well, with Valley’s defensive backfield shutting down every target he attempted.

“We had to hit some of [Brookshire’s] deep throws,” said Cardinal Newman coach Paul Cronin. “Valley was in Man-Zero, where it’s tough to run the ball no matter what set you get in. You gotta attack them and execute the throw and catch, but we didn’t get that tonight.”

Despite the overall letdown on offense, Cardinal Newman was able to secure a lead late in the second quarter. An early 25-yard field goal in the first quarter by Warrior Bailey Schroeder opened up the gates for scoring, but Brookshire led his Cardinals down the field just a few drives later, and capped off an 80-yard drive with a one-yard punch-in. Although the point after was missed, it was the only successful drive for the Cardinals all night, putting up over half of their total yards for the game into it. The Cardinals’ lead didn’t last long, with Kendrick bursting for a 66-yard touchdown run just one play into the following Warrior drive.

Cardinal Newman had a chance to retake their lead, but the Brookshire pass that was picked off by Flores set up a 15-yard Kendrick touchdown rush to make it 17-6 in favor of the Warriors with under half a minute to go in the half. In the third quarter, Valley scored on their opening drive with a 1-yard rush by Sturns. Although Schroeder would barely miss a 44-yard field goal try in the fourth quarter, another goal line score from Sturns finished off the Cardinals for good.

“There’s always things to critique- football’s an imperfect game,” said coach Mike Machado on preparing for the state final. “We’ll watch film, and we’ll identify things to work on. We’ve had some great teams, but these guys have led a legacy that will stick with them for the rest of their life.”

The season ends for Cardinal Newman, who finish 12-2 with an NCS Division 4 championship and a trip to NorCal around their belt.

As for the Warriors, they’ll be one of two WCAL teams getting a taste of southern California to play in a CIF State Final game.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Kendrick. “I just take it game by game and day by day. Coach worked us and we worked hard and now we’re here.”