Young, Pack track down third straight
- Updated: September 1, 2018
West Hills junior Steven Crisitini makes a tackle. / photo by Melissa Honick
2018 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL
WEST HILLS 37, SANTA FE 14
By Jim Lindgren
Special to EastCountySports.com
SANTEE – Heady and steady, Jordin Young is quietly and effectively turning into one of the best quarterbacks in the East County this season.
The senior signal-caller in West Hills’ double-wing deception offense accounted for five touchdowns – three rushing and two more passing – as the Wolf Pack routed Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe High, 37-14, on Friday night at West Hills to move to 3-0.
“I’d say he’s been the best player on the field in every game we’ve played,” West Hills coach Casey Ash said. “He should be doing well, and he is doing well.”
West Hills senior JACK BROWNING attempts a place kick on Friday night. / photo by Melissa Honick
Young opened the scoring with a 24-yard score on a keeper up the middle.
After a West Hills safety, Young scrambled right and then raced 68 yards down the right sideline for a second TD and a 16-6 Wolf Pack lead.
Turning to the air, Young connected with Kole Klingerman on a 26-yard TD pass to make it 23-6.
After West Hills recovered a fumble near the goal line, Young plowed in from 1 yard on a QB sneak for his third rushing TD to give West Hills a 30-6 lead at halftime.
In the second half, he found Brycen Williams for a 10-yard scoring strike to make it 37-6 before Santa Fe tallied late to finish the scoring.
“Jordin could have done quite a bit more tonight,” Ash said. “We didn’t run him hardly at all in the second half.”
Young had rushed for 87 yards in a 20-3 win over El Centro Southwest in the season opener. He gained 120 yards in a 24-7 rout of Valhalla in Week 2. He topped 100 yards once again against Santa Fe.
“Yes, I did have some great runs,” Young said, “but the O-line and receivers were able to block well. And without that, those runs don’t happen.
“We still have a lot to improve on. It was a great game. The defense played outstanding, and the offense was able to put some big plays together.”
Klingerman’s TD was a spectacular circus-type grab in the back of the end zone. Young’s lob pass actually bounced off the helmet of a defender as Klingerman tried to reach over him from behind. Keeping his eyes on the prize, Klingerman managed to reach out and grab the deflection a moment later.
West Hills’ Jack Browning was 5-for-5 on PATs and twice pinned Santa Fe inside its 5-yard line with well-placed punts. One of them led to a safety as Austin Ruiz-Castaneda sacked the Santa Fe quarterback in the end zone. It was one of many sacks for the Wolf Pack, who also got an interception from Kip Klingerman, Kole’s twin brother.
West Hills stuffs the run on Friday night against visiting Santa Fe High, of Santa Fe Springs. / photo by Melissa Honick
“One of the highlights was we did a great job of pressuring the quarterback when they got behind and tried to throw it more,” Ash said. “Overall, the defense played pretty well.”
Young threw for 948 yards and 12 TDs with only three interceptions last year in guiding the Wolf Pack to a 6-5 mark. He also rushed for 467 yards and 5 scores, the latter a total he has already matched in three August games.
“We’ve gotten a little bit better each week,” Ash said. “That’s what we have to do. Chula Vista should be more of a test.”
West Hills plays at Chula Vista (2-1) next Friday.
“We’re looking forward to going down there,” Ash said. “It’s a team we haven’t played in quite some time.”
Young is looking forward to it as well. “As a team, we need to clean up everything,” he said. “We’re getting too many penalties on offense, players are still confused at times. Hopefully, we’re able to fix those problems with the wins matter more later in the season.”
