LA COSTA CANYON, CA - Dodging defenders under an unexpected rain, Ja-Quan Carroll weaved through the wet and slippery Maverick home-field, scoring the game sealing touchdown and bringing the crowd to its feet.
Quarterback Jack Neufeld had just rushed the ball 20 yards down the field, setting Carroll up for the three-yard drive into the end zone that locked up a 38-0 win against Escondido Friday night, for host La Costa Canyon.
“It was successful,” said head coach Sean Sovacool. “The guys played hard, defense was lights out, they gave our offense short fields, and put up the goose eggs so they couldn't score. That's always the goal and to win in that fashion is exciting.”
Earlier in the game, Carroll split the defense with a weaving 15-yard sprint that earned him his first of two touchdowns on the night.
“My line had good blocking and created it all up front. It's a team effort,” he said.
Running back and wide-receiver Karson Lippert concurred that the team’s blocking was a huge part of making his and other touchdowns possible. Three minutes and 47 seconds into the third quarter, Lippert had cut left and then right to squeeze his way past the defenders and open up a big enough gap to run the ball 53 yards into the center of the end zone.
“The blocking was good and set [me] up for a pretty easy touchdown,” added Lippert.
Lippert entered the game with 168 yards with 18 carries in the first two games of the season, averaging over nine yards per carry.
Neufeld opened the scoring in the game with a deep ball to receiver Zachary Monahan down the left sideline, where he had outrun the coverage.
The Cougars persevered, threatening to score late against La Costa Canyon and break up the shutout, especially in the final two minutes of the game. However, the Mavericks managed to close down the gaps, each time shutting down the Cougars' offense.
Not helping the Escondido cause was four lost fumbles throughout the game.
“We fumbled way too much,” said Cougars assistant coach John Williamson. “It was bad.. but we are a young team and we're going to get better. That's what we've been working on right now. Developing a better culture with our players and getting better.”
The Mavericks had ample opportunities to get more points in the first and second half but could not capitalize on these chances. Neufeld flung three balls into the mid-end zone which were dropped and later followed by two missed field goals kicked too far to the left.
“We were in the red zone a number of times in the first half, and missed two field goals, and didn't poke them in on touchdowns,” Sovacool said. “It is one of our goals to be efficient in the red zone and the fact that we weren’t is troubling. But it’s good that we have a lot to improve on and we have time to do it.”
Next Friday night, the Mavericks will be taking on the Poway Titans and the Cougars will be competing against the Serra Cavaliers, both during away games.
