SBVC Routs Pierce to Claim Share of Title

SBVC Routs Pierce to Claim Share of Title

It didn't take long to figure out what kind of game Saturday night's matchup between Los Angeles Pierce and San Bernardino Valley was going to be.

Jason Harris Jr. returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, and then the SBVC defense blocked Ace Rivas's punt on the Brahmas' opening drive, with Jonathan Coar picking up the loose ball and scoring to give the Wolverines a 14-0 lead before San Bernardino Valley's offense had stepped on to the field. The Wolverines cruised from there, beating winless Pierce 66-0.

The victory, combined with Santa Monica's loss earlier in the day, clinched a share of the American Conference, Pacific League championship with the Corsairs. The Wolverines will now wait to see if they are invited to a bowl game, which would likely be played Nov. 22.

Staked to a big lead, the SBVC offense had troubles getting on track, stalling out on their first two drives. But midway through the second quarter, the Wolverines' offense finally found the end zone. A five-play drive was capped as quarterback Roman Aguirre found Kaleb Taylor on a 25-yard pass play. Jonathan Lupercio's kick made it 21-0.

The Wolverines put the game away in the final 4:56 of the first half. Starting a drive at their own 15, the Wolverines marched down the field on a 12-play drive that was capped off by an 8-yard run by Sir King Cody Atkins with 35 seconds remaining in the half. But that was only the start.

On the ensuing kickoff, Ghael Pasos's kickoff bounced short of the end zone, and the Brahmas had troubles corraling the ball. SBVC's Christian Johns-Wallace recovered the live ball at the Pierce 7-yard line. Trent Dailey ran the ball in on SBVC's first play, making it 35-0. Then, on Pierce's first play from scrimmage after the next kickoff, quarterback Roman Rough was intercepted by Jordan Ward, who returned the ball to the Pierce 10-yard line with 5 seconds remaining. Lupercio booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired to make it 38-0 at half.

SBVC went on to score on its first three possessions of the second half, running only seven plays to score 21 points. LA Pierce nearly doubled SBVC's time of possession in the game, but the Wolverines held the Brahmas to only 71 yards of total offense in the game. The SBVC defense recorded 17 tackles for loss in the game, including seven sacks.