Spartans light up Mendota, to host Valley-Championship game

STRATHMORE — The second-seeded Strathmore Spartans earned their bid in the Division VI Valley Championship by crushing the third-seeded Mendota Aztecs in the semifinals at home, handily winning 53-20.

“Defensively, we thoroughly dominated them. Those starting 11, especially our defensive tackles and ends, had a really rough week of practice coming into this game,” Spartans coach Jeromy Blackwell said. “We knew these guys were going to come run the football at us. I think those guys came up huge.”

Before the game finished, it was announced that fourth-seeded Orange Cove had upset top-seeded Tranquility and that the Spartans would be hosting the Division VI Championship next Friday.

“Orange Cove, that is a grudge match. Their coach has said some very nasty things about us, to us,” Blackwell said. “They beat us on their field and they did some bad things while we were there. This is our chance at revenge. It’s going to be huge.”

The announcement came in during the fourth quarter when the Spartans were leading 40-14, and was met with cheers from the rainsoaked crowd who now knew they would have a chance to witness the potential title.

“Our fans come out and support us on a rainy night; it’s an awesome place to be in Strathmore, California,” Blackwell said.

The Spartans dominated the game in all aspects from the start, outscoring their opponents 19-2 in the first quarter. The only points awarded to the Aztecs in the first half were from a safety. The safety happened when the Spartans, who led 6-0, had a snap go long during a punt which forced Jesse Soria to down it in the end zone. Aside from that single miscue, Strathmore manhandled Mendota, taking a 33-2 lead by the end of the first half.

“I’ve been telling people for a long time that our offensive line absolutely dominates people. They get off the football really well and they have a lot of rage inside of them,” Blackwell said. “People probably think that we’re nuts, but we play with a lot of anger. They go out there and demand respect, play with a chip on their shoulder and that’s the way we like it.”

The Spartans struck quickly in the first quarter, taking a 6-0 lead scoring off of a Soria dive on fourth-and-goal from the Aztecs 1-yard line just 3:41 into the first quarter. Soria finished the night with 21 carries for 183 yards and four touchdowns.

Following the aforementioned safety, the Aztecs quarterback, Mario Ochoa, fumbled on a pitch, which was snatched up off of the first bounce by David Sanchez, who returned it 15 yards to Mendota’s 21-yard line. Six consecutive handoffs to Soria later and the Spartans led 12-2 with just more than two minutes left in the opening stanza.

“We were playing fundamental football. We played them straight up; we did not blitz and we were squeezing gaps like maniacs,” Blackwell said.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Aztecs fumbled and it was recovered, yet again, by Sanchez, at Mendota’s 37-yard line. Strathmore took little time to add to its lead, scoring just 48 seconds following the fumble.

Senior wide receiver Zack Purdin took the ball wide left down the sideline, juking two would be tacklers at the 10-yard line on his way to a 34-yard touchdown romp, 19-2.

On the Spartans’ next possession, Soria exploded through a hole on the left side, high-stepping over defenders for a 72-yard touchdown run to give them a 26-2 edge.

The Spartans, holding onto a 24-point lead, had already forced the Aztecs into desperation mode, throwing up bombs that landed incomplete, that is, until senior free safety Jaime Magallon picked off his first of two interceptions. Magallon returned the interception 35 yards before he was tackled at their own 45-yard line.

Immediately following the turnover, former junior varsity quarterback, Julio Arellano hit a wide open Magallon down the right side of the field for a 55-yard touchdown connection.

“Offensively, we had big plays from lots of different people,” Blackwell said. “Everyone thought that it was just going to be a Soria one-man show, but we got big plays out of Jaime, Zack Purdin. We were all over the place.”

Strathmore had most of its starters on the sideline by the end of the third quarter, and the entire junior varsity offense took over.

After the Aztecs had managed to score three times on the backups, they opted to kick another onside kick with 7:24 remaining in the fourth. The plan didn’t work out in their favor as the kick was returned 50 yards for a touchdown by Purdin.

“People think we just want to hand the ball to Jessie Soria, but we’re attacking from all angles now, Blackwell said.”