West Hills Wins Fifth Straight, Hands First Defeat To Monterey

With the CCCAA spotlight on the West Hills College Coalinga versus Monterey Peninsula College showdown – the lone game in the state on Friday – the host Falcons came away with a hard-fought 21-17 homecoming victory at Memorial Bowl Stadium.

The win extended WHCC's streak to five games and – more importantly – propelled the Falcons into sole possession of first place in the American Division Golden Coast League with three games remaining.

West Hills (3-0, 5-2) entered the game ranked No. 4 in the division, while the No. 2 Monterey Lobos (3-1, 6-1) were one of the state's seven remaining undefeated teams.

The game was also a match-up of the league's top ground game (West Hills) and the top air attack (Monterey).

In the end, West Hills was as advertised, rushing for 251 yards on 44 carries and a 5.7 per rush average. Freshmen tailbacks Kimauni Johnson (117 yds, 5.7 ypc) and Joseph McDaniel (79 yds, 5.6 ypc, TD) led the way against a stout Lobo defense.

Meanwhile, Monterey QB Kody Steele was 18-of-33 passing for 199 yards – nearly 100 yards below his regular average. His two TD passes kept the Lobos within striking distance, but the Falcon defense proved to be the difference.

Falcons sophomore QB Vincent Espinoza (10-18, 79 yds) tossed the winning score – a 1-yard pass to sophomore WR Kris Lewis for a 21-17 lead with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter.

The game was scoreless during the fourth quarter, as the teams traded punts and struggled through overcoming penalties (total: 15 on MPC and 16 on WHCC) and fighting for good field position.

As with most of the wins during the current five-game streak, the defensive unit made big plays up front and in the secondary.

Freshman DL Robert Brown IV had a career-high eight tackles, including a shared sack and a tackle for loss; sophomore DB Elijah Tausaga finished with seven tackles (2.5 for loss), sophomore LB Ualesi Sale and freshman LB Lukas Ruoss both added four tackles.

Freshman DB Tranealius Abrams led the team with nine tackles (five solo) and a huge interception and return near midfield in the second quarter that led to the Falcons taking a 14-7 lead.

The Lobos closed the first half with an impressive 98-yard drive, capped by a Steele 3-yard TD pass to Deryan Sanders to tie the game at 14-14.

West Hills received the second half kickoff, but went three-and-out. Monterey answered with a scoring drive – but managed only a 21-yard FG as the Falcons defense held after a first-and-goal situation.

Leading 17-14 with 9:29 left in the third quarter, the Lobos' final three drives resulted in a punt, turnover on downs, and another punt.

The Falcons' rushing attack (15 total rushing first downs) kept moving the chains and kept the Lobos' explosive offense on the sidelines.

"That was a huge win for us," said WHCC head coach Cam Olson.

"We just played against a very, very good football team."

West Hills outgained Monterey in total yards, 330 to 290, and overcame two fumbles and several dropped passes.

Other bright spots for the Falcons included freshman WR Brandon Sanchez (4 rec, 43 yds) – who had three carries for 25 yards, including a TD run from 12 yards out to give the team a 14-7 lead in the second quarter; and freshman WR Imoni Donadelle (3 rec for 27 yds, 1 rush for 12 yds) – whose catch-and-run for 19 yards bailed the team out of a first-and-20 situation on the game-clinching drive.

McDaniel barreled through the line on four consecutive carries (18 yds) also, before the team finished the game in victory formation.

UP NEXT: The Falcons will travel to Salinas (Oct. 29) to play No. 5 Hartnell (2-1, 4-2 entering Game 7) for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.