VVC football routed by Grossmont in playoffs

By MICHELLE GARDNER, Staff Writer

EL CAJON (Nov. 20, 2006) — It has been a season of firsts for the Victor Valley College football team. It was the first nine-win season and the first postseason appearance.

But the first playoff win proved elusive. The Cinderella story came to an end as the Rams were thumped by defending state champion Grossmont 49-7 on Saturday.

Players milled around outside their locker room after the game. Few words were spoken as they scarfed down lunch before boarding the bus for the long trek home. Coach Dave Hoover stressed accomplishments not failures when addressing the team.

"I love this group of guys," he said. "I wish I could keep coaching them forever. "It's obviously disappointing but this loss doesn't diminish what we accomplished this season."

The same sentiments spilled forth from the players who have raised expectations at a school never known for its football program.

"Now we know what to expect next year. We're looking forward to making the playoffs again," running back Isaac Newton said. "Hopefully we have set a good example for the younger guys and shown them what it takes to be successful."

The Griffins (10-1), who won their 10th straight game, played with the poise of a perennial playoff contender while the Rams (9-2) played the upstart. They were called for 135 yards in penalties with six of those resulting in first downs for the foe.
The Rams did score the game's first touchdown as freshman defensive back Kendrell Barthelemy picked off a John Soli pass and ran it back 53 yards for a touchdown with Dustin Hoegerl adding the kick.

But little went right after that. Grossmont, the Foothill Conference champion, evened it on a 1-yard pass by Soli. For the day, he threw four TD passes and ran two others.

Grossmont led 21-7 at the half and 28-7 after three quarters.

The Rams managed just 66 yards passing with quarterback Michael Woods, the conference offensive player of the year, converting just six of 16 passes with three interceptions. The rushing game netted 115 with Newton's 43 leading the team.

Grossmont tallied 187 on the ground and 226 through the air, taking advantage of the Rams' blitz with Soli able to find open receivers all day.

Both teams were shorthanded as Rams receiver Jahan Jones was rendered ineffective by a pulled hamstring. Newton and fullback Dexter Guidry weren't full speed either. All of the Rams secondary played offensively too, which showed late as the Griffins added 21 points in the final period. But Hoover didn't use that as an excuse.

"It's football and guys get banged up. We just don't have a lot of depth," he said. "But I am proud of how far we have come. It wasn't that long ago that we were 72nd in the state out 72 teams. So we have a lot to be proud of."

Despite the lack of experience the Rams were confident, citing a narrow 16-7 loss the first time the teams played.

"It's hard to say what happened," linebacker Justin Halas said. "Watching the film from the first time we played, we thought we'd come out here and be quite successful."

Added Newton: "We just didn't execute our plays like we did all year."

Victor Valley College misses multiple opportunities in loss to Grossmont

By KRIS REILLY Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE (Oct. 22, 2006) — With the biggest home crowd of the year screaming its collective lungs out, the Victor Valley College defense was controlling the game and the offense had finally found its stride.

The Rams were marching toward the score that would likely win the game and give the team its first Foothill Conference title.

Then, in a fraction of a second, Grossmont took it all away.

A fumble at the goal line — along with four other VVC turnovers — made the difference in Grossmont’s 16-7 victory over the Rams in front of nearly 1,000 fans at Burt Trimble Field on Saturday.

The win all but clinches the conference title for the Griffins (7-1, 6-0 FC), who handed the Rams (7-1, 5-1 FC) their first loss of the season.

“We made a critical mistake on first-and-goal,” VVC head coach Dave Hoover said. “It happens. Sometimes the ball goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Trailing 9-0 early in the fourth quarter, VVC’s Charlton Hankston recovered Grossmont’s fumbled snap at the Griffins’ 36-yard line. Three plays later, Rams quarterback Michael Woods released the ball just before being drilled and threw a perfect strike to Kendrell Barthelemy in the back of the end zone for a TD that made it 9-7.

On the Griffins’ next possession, quarterback John Soli was sacked by Hankston and Justin Halas, then had a pass broken up by the Rams’ Travis Dunn on third down.

After a punt, the Rams took over at their own 32 and began driving right away with a 10-yard reception by Barthelemy, a cornerback who is seeing action at receiver due to injuries.

Isaac Newton ran for 28 yards on the drive, including a 21-yarder that put the Rams at the Grossmont 12. From there, Dexter Guidry ran three straight times, including a crucial 4-yard pickup on third down to give the Rams a first-and-goal at the 1 with just over 5 minutes to play.

With a yard to go for the goahead score, Guidry got the call. He was hit at the goal line by Grossmont defensive lineman Ryan Glazer, and the ball popped free. Guidry and Woods scrambled for the recovery, but the Griffins’ Nate Dolan hopped on it just inside the goal line for a touchback.

From there, Grossmont drove 80 yards for the winning score.

The fumble was undoubtedly a huge turning point, but there were plenty of other mistakes and missed opportunities:

Woods threw three interceptions to Grossmont defensive back Nate Schad (one of which was a desperation pass at the end of the game). The first of those pick-offs was followed by an 11-play, 72-yard Grossmont drive capped by a 9-yard Cedric Warren touchdown run, the only score of the first half.

Woods threw a catchable 43-yard pass to wide receiver Jahan Jones in the first quarter; Jones dove and got his hands on the ball in the end zone but couldn’t make the catch.

Guidry also fumbled on a carry in the second quarter to give the Griffins the ball at the VVC 22-yard line. But Barthelemy and Duayne Paul busted through the line to block a Grossmont field goal attempt and get the Rams out of trouble. (Barthelemy also came close to blocking a third-quarter field goal attempt that sailed wide right).

Grossmont got six of its 16 first downs from VVC penalties.

VVC ran a reverse in the shadow of its own goalpost in the third quarter. Anthony Baker was greeted near his own goal line by a pair of Grossmont defenders and lost the ball, which went out of bounds in the end zone for a safety.

And then there was the play that sealed the victory, Warren’s 42-yard run on the left side for the touchdown that put Grossmont up by nine with 2:03 to go.

“That last play, we just lost containment,” Halas said.

It all added up to a frustrating defeat for the Rams.

“It was definitely a game we should have won,” Halas said. “We had it on the 1 (before the fumble), but our offense should have put a little more together during the whole game. ... All we’ve got to get is a couple points on the board and our defense would take over from there.”

The character of the game was decidedly defensive. Neither team put up big numbers, but Grossmont had the edge in total offensive yardage, 212-132.

VVC has a bye next week before going on the road to face San Diego Mesa. Hoover was relatively upbeat, noting that the Rams still have a chance to go 9-1 and make the state playoffs. To do that, VVC will have to at least hold onto its No. 8 ranking in Southern California.

The Rams will have to wait for the upcoming poll to find out if they’ve dropped or not.

“If we’re not a top eight team,” Hoover said, “I’d like to see who is.”

NOTES: Apparently Grossmont coach Mike Jordan had plenty of respect for the Rams. Jordan said he used every last penny in the budget to have the team come up to Victorville the night before. In the past Grossmont has driven up from the San Diego area the day of the game, but Jordan broke with tradition because of the magnitude of the contest. Despite their early arrival in town, the Griffins were reportedly late getting to VVC and the starting time was pushed back 15 minutes to 1:15 p.m. ... One of the reasons Barthelemy saw increased action on the offensive side is an injury to starting wideout Kennard Fuselier, who has a broken leg.