INLAND FIELDHOUSE

I covered the San Bernardino Arroyo Valley-San Bernardino San Gorgonio varsity football game on Friday night for the Riverside Press-Enterprise and came away thinking San Gorgonio was lucky to not have squandered away a victory.

Buoyed by the strong play of senior QB T.J. Smith, the Spartans led 14-0 at halftime. But San G.’s defense allowed Arroyo Valley to control the clock as senior RB DeMarcus White ran for 120 of his 140 yards in the third and fourth quarters.

White (5-11, 200 lbs), returning to play after sustaining a high ankle sprain in Week 2, pounded his way for 11 yards on his first touch of the second half and eight more on his second. The Hawks scored on the drive to make the score 14-7.

The two teams then played the field-possession game until the fourth quarter, when White caught a short pass and turned it into a 51-yard gain for the Hawks, who eventually kicked a field goal get with four points at 14-10.

Whatever Hawks head coach Marcus Soward was saying to his team was working. Arroyo Valley’s defense forced San G. to a three-and-out and the Hawks’ offense was going to take over with over 4 minutes left.

Hawks junior QB Javon Williams (6-2, 205 lbs) engineered a drive down that got the ball to within the Spartans’ 10-yard line. He completed a couple of short passes and White carried the ball four times for more than 30 yards against what-looked-to-be a tired San G. defense.

But with the ball on the 8 on fourth down, Soward and the Hawks’ made to call to go for it and White was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage. Spartans linebacker Terrance McClendon made the play, one of four tackles he had for loss in the game.

McClendon’s key tackle aside, it would be the second — and last — time Arroyo Valley had the ball inside the Spartans’ 10-yard line. Those kind of opportunities are precious and decide seasons. Twice the Hawks were in the red zone, in the fourth quarter, and failed to punch it in.

So San Gorgonio’s defense bent but didn’t break. Or Arroyo Valley’s offense lacked a killer instinct.

Either way, McClendon (5-11, 215 lbs) is a beast. He’s the Spartans starting fullback and scored on a one-yard dive in the second quarter. He’s also a starting OLB and led his team in tackles (11), including a sack. He has a presence about him, too. He’s mean and football ferocious. His teammates look to him because he leads by example.

McClendon, QB T.J. Smith and senior RB Tre Meadors are the nucleus of the 2008 San Gorgonio Spartans varsity football team. Coach Randy Stevens looks reluctant to take any of the three off the field at any moment, with McClendon starting at OLB, Smith at safety and Meadors at DB.

Smith (5-11, 175 lbs) was 7-of-8 passing and had an explosive 42-yard run for touchdown in the first quarter to get the home crowd excited. He also picked off a couple of passes in the second half that helped keep San G.’s defensive from getting over-exposed.

Meadors (5-11, 175 lbs) carried the load for the Spartans, as usual. He tallied 66 yards on 16 tough carries, many of which went for a loss. He also was faced with the task of covering Arroyo Valley’s best receiver, junior Steven Williams. Meadors played tough and held Williams (6-1, 175 lbs) to five catches and 50 yards while being thrown at more than a dozen times.

On the other side, I was impressed by Arroyo Valley’s Williams-to-Williams connection. Both juniors, they should continue to improve and may even be a formidable duo next season.