INLAND FIELDHOUSE

I covered the Fontana Kaiser-Jurupa Valley varsity football game for The Press-Enterprise on Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, and came away thinking about how some game are ‘Tales Of Two Halves.’

Kaiser was ineffective on offense in the first half. Sophomore QB Ryan Mota (pictured) was a pale-faced shell of himself which, typically, is a pretty good football player.

Jurupa Valley made some strides in the first half with their short passing game, which was set up mostly by the downfield running of Santana Gonzalez, and the Jaguars held a 6-0 lead at halftime.

Then something happened. Jurupa Valley could not match Kaiser’s physicality in the second half.

The Cats (5-2 overall, 2-0 Sunkist) scored on their first drive, with Mota running in it from the 4, and took the lead on the PAT.

The Jaguars practically disappeared afterward. Kaiser defensive backs pressed receivers and broke up passes. Run plays were stuffed at-or-near the line of scrimmage.

The energy of the home crowd was soon diffused, though it didn’t stop Jurupa Valley from bombing. The Jaguars gained 35 yards in the second half, a 2.3 per-play average.

An odd moment… I overheard one of the Jurupa Valley assistant coaches say he wants the players be more coach-able, saying something like: “We’re not here to bust about what you’re wearing. We’re here to coach you up.”

Had a 5-0-1 record coming into the game turned some Jaguars players into divas?

Might have, from the sound of things.

Fontana Kaiser coach Phil Zelaya:
“I told Dave (Pierson) before the game I thought they were an incredibly different football team, and they should be commended for how hard they’re working. They’ve got some good leadership, they got a good football team and they believe in each other. They’re gonna do some damage. They’re good.”

Fontana Kaiser sophomore Ryan Mota:
“The second half we came out fighting. We came out trying to win hard. We came out trying to get the win. We changed ourselves. We all stuck together and believed in each other and we got the ‘W’. They’re really improved. They’ve really improved a lot. This is our hardest challenge this year so far.”