INLAND FIELDHOUSE

I covered the Yucaipa-Rialto Carter varsity football game on Friday night for the Riverside Press-Enterprise and came away thinking Yucaipa has a chance to surprise a team or two should they qualify for the CIF-Southern Section Playoffs.

The Thunderbirds run the ball HARD. Single Back sets, I-Form sets, Wingback sets, Shotgun sets — pretty much anyway they can disguise a running play, they’ll do it. And they have size and experience up front, which makes all the difference when your top playmakers on offense are juniors.

Junior RB Brandon Leach (5-11, 185 lbs) got the majority of the carries on the night, rushing 25 times for 125 yards and two TDs. His 35-yard scamper for a score in the second quarter was impressive. He started left but then went middle as he followed the blocking of his line and only had to make one guy miss en route to the end zone.

Yucaipa even runs the option here and there, making it extremely hard for opposing defenses to ever get a grasp on a ball carrier if they can ever figure out which way he’s coming before they watch him going…

Junior QB Wyatt Padgett (5-11, 180 lbs) is an elusive runner and a smart decision maker. He had runs of 12 and 15 yards in the first quarter, which gave Carter’s defense plenty of reason to stack the box with eight or nine guys. But Padgett, a left-handed passer, also was able to find open receivers when necessary. He completed 6 of 11 passes for nearly 100 yards and a touchdown.

In addition Leach and Padgett, Yucaipa also has a slew of playmakers to catch the ball, led by junior Matt Marnati (6-1, 175 lbs). Marnati runs an occasional sweep, runs a nice out pattern and returns the majority of the kicks. He had 70 yards on five carries, 44 yards and a touchdown on two receptions and more than 100 yards in kick returns. He almost had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the third quarter would it not have been of an illegal block penalty that knocked the Thunderbirds back to mid-field. Although it didn’t matter because Marnati had a 49-yard run on the ensuing drive that gave his team a first-and-goal on Carter’s 1.

What’s more? They play tough, tough defense. The T-Birds held the Lions scoreless in the second half, never allowing Carter’s offense to sniff the goal line over the final 24 minutes. They even returned a fumble for a touchdown and tacked on a safety for good measure.

Yucaipa head man John Hallenbeck and his staff also show a lot of patience and appear to be teachers, as well as coaches. They get on their guys, sure, but they also show them how to get their shoulder turned in the right direction in order to make the block or tackle. Compared to some of the coaches I’ve seen this season (Dick Bruich, et al), they yelled less and instructed more, which was nice to see.

On the other sideline, Carter QB Valtray Jackson (6-0, 175 lbs) again looked every bit a top athlete. He rushed for 99 yards out of the Lions’ Shotgun offense but also was forced into throwing the ball more than 30 times — obviously not his strong suit.

The real problem is that the Lions lack much size or depth up front. This means Jackson has little time to see downfield and often resorts to just hurling the ball as far as he can. It’s a wonder he hasn’t been hurt or that Carter has won a single game at all behind such minimal protection.