Imperial High running back Royce Freeman runs the ball against La Jolla High while a Vikings defender tries to bring him down Friday night in Imperial. (STEVEN ESPERANZA PHOTOS / November 10, 2012) |
IMPERIAL — Suddenly, Friday the 16th of
November became a whole lot more interesting for fans of Imperial
Valley and CIF-San
Diego Section Division IV football.
That’s because Imperial High’s 34-20 defeat over the visiting La
Jolla High Vikings here Friday night propelled the Tigers to a
second-round faceoff with Brawley Union High.
“Their coaches had them very well-prepared for us,” Imperial coach
Kerry Legarra said of the Vikings. “They have a very good football
team.
“They hit us in the mouth, but we bounced right back,” he said.
“It’s nice that we didn’t have an easy
win going into next week.”
After falling 35-21 to the 2012 Imperial Valley League champion
Brawley Union High Wildcats a month ago, the Tigers outscored their
final three IVL opponents 174-21.
But La Jolla, despite having a 3-7 record, was not going to go away
quietly.
Imperial struck first with the first of four Royce Freeman rushing
touchdowns. He scored from 20, 10, 23 and 2 yards out en route to a
career-high 32 carries that netted him 251 yards.
The Vikings found an effective combination of runs by A.J. Talman,
David McColl, and Kenneth Martey, who ran 16 times for 146 yards and
two touchdowns.
But the Tiger defense stepped up when it counted the most, as Imperial
was able to withstand La Jolla to force a rematch with the Wildcats.
“Defensively when we needed a stop, we got a stop and that’s what
matters,” Legarra said.
A week after breaking former Wildcats running back Zay Sheppard’s
IVL career rushing yards record, on Friday Freeman broke Sheppard’s
IVL record for rushing yardage in a single season.
He now has 4,667 yards, which is good enough for 14th place in CIF-San
Diego Section — one spot behind former Heisman
Trophy winner Ricky
Williams.
His four touchdowns against La Jolla moved Freeman in sixth place in
CIF-San Diego Section for points scored with 466, vaulting current Miami
Dolphins running back Reggie
Bush in the process.
A 20-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter from quarterback Chris
Carter to fellow junior Dajon Staton not only bolstered
Imperial’s lead but gave Staton the school record for reception
touchdowns (12), surpassing Kenny
Jackson and Darren Ross.
Carter is now second in the school’s record books with 30 passing
touchdowns, just shy of Jon Van Zandt’s record of 32.
“I’m awful proud of our players,” Legarra said. “I’ve never
been prouder.
“This is the most cohesive, best football team I’ve been
associated with,” he said.
The Tigers’ impending showdown with the Wildcats, who had a bye as
the No. 3 seed in Division IV last Friday, is sure to repeat as the
No. 1 local game to watch this year.
“Next week is at the top of our list this year of most important
games,” Freeman said.
“There are many things we can improve on, on all sides of the
ball,” he said. “I believe this game did a good job of showing us
how we shape up for our next game.”
Imperial (9-2, 4-1 IVL) will play at Brawley (9-1, 5-0 IVL) on Warne
Field at 7 p.m. Friday.