Hauser’s passes lift Vaqueros over Norseman Baker’s record rushes
- Updated: October 20, 2018
2018 EAST COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL
EL CAPITAN 42, VALHALLA 21
EastCountySports.com Staff Report
LAKESIDE – Wick Hauser and Yaphet Yokley played remarkably efficient games as El Capitan lapped Valhalla, 42-21, on Friday night in the Grossmont Hills League.
Hauser, a junior, was 7-of-12 passing for 212 yards and a season-high four touchdowns.
Yokley, a senior, caught two passes – both of them touchdowns – for 112 yards, and he rushed six times for 66 yards for another score.
El Capitan had a remarkably balanced attack as well, getting 201 rushing and 212 passing yards for a total of 413. The Vaqueros also scored in every quarter, and its 21-point second quarter led to a 28-14 halftime lead.
“Wick is getting better and better at running our offense,” El Capitan coach Ron Burner said.
With the win, El Capitan (3-6, 1-3) solidified its place in the San Diego Section Division III playoffs. The Vaqueros finish the regular season next week at Grossmont (2-7, 1-3).
“Grossmont looks like they got back on track and played a really good game tonight,” Burner said. “We have our hands full, to say the least. All we can do is practice hard and play hard.”
Valhalla junior Keegan Baker kept this from being a blowout, getting all three Norsemen touchdowns on runs of 23, 34 and 8 yards.
Valhalla (0-9, 0-4) plays host to Granite Hills (8-1, 3-1) to finish its season.
Midway through the first quarter, Yokley and Hauser hooked up on a 64-yard touchdown pass to take the first lead.
Baker scored on a 23-yard run up the middle to make it 7-7.
On the first play of the second quarter, Yokley took a jet sweep to the left and scored from 10 yards to make it 14-7.
Moments later, Yokley took a short pass from Hauser in the flat, spun past a defender and sprinted down the right sideline for a 48-yard score and a 21-7 lead.
Baker made it 21-14 with a 34-yard touchdown run with 9:35 to play before halftime. Baker burst up the middle, then made a great cut around the 15-yard line to duke two defenders and reach the end zone.
At 5:43, John Case scored on a 1-yard run to make it 28-14. Case finished with 50 yards on 10 carries with a long of 17.
Back to the air, Hauser threw deep to Nathan Schunk, who made a terrific stretching 38-yard touchdown catch to give El Cap a 35-14 lead three minutes into the third quarter.
Back to Baker. This time, Valhalla’s stud scored from 8 yards. The back likely rushed for a school-record in the contest, as he reportedly gained well over 300 yards on the evening.
Hauser wasn’t done yet. In the fourth quarter, Hauser faked a handoff, stepped up and fired a strike to Ray Lawler in traffic in the end zone. Lawler somehow held onto the ball for a 7-yard score.
Another bright spot for the Vaqueros was the running of sophomore Taylor Grasmick, who led the ground attack with 69 yards on 20 carries.
Both kickers were perfect in this one. Marlon Pineda was 6-for-6 on PATs, while Valhalla senior Brad Kowalczyk was 3-for-3.
@ValhallaFotball rushing record for most rushing yards in a Norsemen game was 289 set by Garen Demery in 2005 vs Hoover HS. @kegan_23 destroyed that mark and rushed for approx. 350 yards tonite vs @ElCapFtball. @EC_Preps_SD @ECMagSports @SDFNLMagazine @MBASports1 WOW !!! pic.twitter.com/OsoKH13VBn
— DonDeMarsPhotography (@DonDeMarsPhoto) October 20, 2018
Grossmont Hills League
EL CAPITAN 42, VALHALLA 21
Valhalla 7 7 7 0 – 21 El Capitan 7 21 7 7 – 42
EC – Yaphet Yokley 64 pass from Wick Hauser (Marlon Pineda kick)
V – Keegan Baker 23 run (Brad Kowalczyk kick)
EC – Yaphet Yokley 10 run (Marlon Pineda kick)
EC – Yaphet Yokley 48 pass from Wick Hauser (Marlon Pineda kick)
V – Keegan Baker 34 run (Brad Kowalczyk kick)
EC – John Case 1 run (Marlon Pineda kick)
EC – Nathan Schunk 38 pass from Wick Hauser (Marlon Pineda kick)
V – Keegan Baker 8 run (Brad Kowalczyk kick)
EC – Ray Lawler 7 pass from Wick Hauser (Marlon Pineda kick)
