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High School Football has kicked off for 2012!
Two turnovers in the first quarter and a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Alvaro Vargas of Pioneer to begin the game were just the beginning of John Glenn’s problems last Thursday night at Excelsior Stadium.
When the first quarter had ended, the Eagles were down 14-0 and were playing catch up the rest of the night, eventually falling to the Titans 35-28.
When it was all said and done, Glenn turned the ball over four times and did not have a drive of over 2:37 through the first three quarters. Pioneer was leading 7-0 late in the first quarter when senior quarterback Deven Galindo was picked off by Hernan Perez, who returned the ball to the Glenn nine-yard line. Two plays later, Angel Marquez scored the first of his three touchdowns which proved to be the game winner at that time.
“We gave up that touchdown really early and that put us in a hole,” said Glenn head coach Ray Niemann.
Galindo threw another interception to Perez early in the second quarter but senior tackle Salvador Cruz recovered a Vargas fumble and the turnover led to a one-yard score from senior running back Steven Reed midway through the second quarter. Through the first half, Reed, the 2011 Suburban League’s offensive most valuable player, was held to 38 yards on 12 carries and would end the game with 86 yards on 22 touches.
Two plays into the second half, Galindo was intercepted by Miguel Herrera and the Titans used just over four minutes to make it a 21-7 contest when Vargas cashed in from nine yards out. He would gain 33 yards on the drive while Marquez added 28 more as those two combined for nine carries on that drive.
“Part of our problem is we have a couple of young guys on the line and we’re trying to develop those guys as fast as we possibly can,” Niemann said.
But Glenn came right back as Galindo had his best drive of the night. He was four of five for 29 yards and was aided by a pair of 15-yard penalties as got his team back in the game with a six-yard pass to senior wide receiver Cyrus Villena. After Marquez increased the margin again, Villena caught a 28-yard pass from Galindo with 22.3 seconds left in the third quarter as Glenn trailed by a touchdown for the third time of the night.
On the ensuing drive, Pioneer ended any chances of a Glenn comeback as it held the ball for 5:12 and went 81 yards on 11 plays culminated by a three-yard touchdown run from Marquez. As they had done all night long, the Eagles rallied for a touchdown but took 4:34 off the clock to do it. Reed cashed in from seven yards with 2:14 left in the game. However, an unsuccessful onside kick allowed the Titans to run out the clock. Galindo was 14 of 26 for 168 with Villena catching half of those passes for 95 yards. Senior wide receiver Ceasar Arzate caught four passes for 53 yards and sophomore running back Dominick Enriquez added 29 yards on the ground on six carries. Glenn will host Bassett tonight, its third of six straight home games to begin the season.
“Would have, should have, could have, potential [to be 2-0]…all of that doesn’t mean a darn thing,” Niemann said. “We should be 2-0 but we shoot ourselves in the foot.”
