VC boys soccer team falls to Del Norte by one goal

 

Stefano Da Silva (in white) catches up to the ball just before scoring the Jaguars' lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Del Norte on Thursday night.

By Dan Kidder

Athletes are often known for their superstitions, so when the calendar turned over into the year 2013, some teams were no doubt looking over their shoulders for any stray black cats.

Here in Valley Center, the varsity boys soccer team may not have any broken mirrors laying about, but the Jaguars were definitely sad to see 2012 come to a close.

The Jags were playing great soccer before the new year began, posting a 3–2–1 record through their final game of the year on Dec. 21.

But since 2013 began, the Jaguars just can’t seem to catch a break, as they have now lost five consecutive games, none by more than a two-goal deficit and the last three by only a single goal.

The latest loss came at home against Del Norte on Thursday night, as the Jags battled through a scoreless first half, then found the net early in the second half, only to have the Nighthawks come back with two late goals to steal the game, 2–1.

Valley Center head coach JD Dantas knows better than to think that his team walked under too many ladders recently.

“We just need to score,” he said of his team’s recent skid in the standings. “We’re getting opportunities to score, but we’re just not finding the net.”

In Thursday’s game, the Jaguars were strong on defense through a first half that saw Del Norte consistently on the attack. Valley Center’s chances came, by and large, on the counter-attack, but the Jags couldn’t connect on their final passes and watched their chances slip away.

But in the second half, the Jaguars began to control the ball and find the passing lanes that were closed in the first half. On a fast break with just over ten minutes gone in the second half, Stefano Da Silva corralled a long pass as he streaked down the right-hand side of the field, took a shot from 20 yards away and knocked the ball in off the far post to open the scoring.

The Nighthawks responded with a push into the offensive zone, and only seven minutes later, they answered with a goal of their own. The score came off a corner kick that got past Valley Center keeper Gavin Marcon and made it to the far post, where a simple deflection put the ball in the back of the open net.

Del Norte still controlled the ball consistently and limited Valley Center’s chances in the middle of the field. The pressure on the Jaguar defense eventually led to another goal, this one coming off a throw-in from the corner that bounced off two Del Norte heads before landing at the feet of a shooter who easily tapped in the goal.

Valley Center had some chances to even the score late in the game, most dramatically with just under seven minutes remaining in the game. After a Jaguar throw in and a high ball that the Nighthawks attempted to clear, Da Silva took a shot on the volley from about 20 yards away, only to have the ball ricochet off the post and roll harmlessly away.

“We had several breakdowns on the defensive end,” Coach Dantas said of the two goals scored by Del Norte. “We were a little more aggressive, and we got out of our game plan, which was to play with patience and hold tight on defense.”

The Jaguars will look to get back in the win column in their next game, which comes at Ramona on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.

Diefenbach scores twice in second half to lead Lady Jags to comeback soccer win

Kiana Diefenbach (4) scores the first of her two goals against Escondido.

Story by Dan Kidder

It took more than 40 minutes for the Valley Center varsity girls soccer team to “wake up,” according to head coach Joe Montoya, in their game against Escondido on Wednesday night.

But once they did, the Lady Jaguars gave the Lady Cougars nightmares with a pair of goals from sophomore Kiana Diefenbach and a comeback 2–1 win.

The Lady Jags had some chances early in the game, including a near miss by Vanessa Heredia, but it was Escondido that scored first, with a goal off a corner kick with just over 15 minutes remaining in the first half.

“We were still asleep in the first half,” Coach Montoya said after the game. “We were not contesting, we were chasing a lot, and we were not moving forward. Our heads weren’t in the game. But at half time, I just reminded them what we’re here for, and we started connecting passes and we played much stronger.”

The Valley Center defense held strong in the opening minutes of the second half, creating chances up front for the offense. With just over 31 minutes left on the clock, the Lady Jaguars were given a free kick from 35 yards away. Savanna Reilly curled a booming kick into the box and the ball smacked off the bottom of the crossbar, just barely staying out of the net. The keeper couldn’t keep up with the bounce, and Diefenbach swooped in to bury the rebound in the back of the net to tie the game.

Escondido came right back after the score and earned a corner that led to a shot that sailed just wide of the net, and the Valley Center defense recovered to prevent any further attack.

Valley Center bounced back and, with just under 24 minutes to go, earned a corner that led to a shot that went just over the crossbar.

Four minutes later, Diefenbach found some open space in the middle of the field, corralled the ball and sent a long shot past the keeper for the game-winner.

“[Diefenbach] has been playing more of an attacking mid position for us, but we had a chance to move her up front tonight,” Coach Montoya added. “She’s a scorer. Last year as a freshman, we brought her up for CIF and she scored two goals for us, so she has the scoring ability. She’s been dealing with some injuries, but she’s really come back strong.”

Next up for the Lady Jaguars is a game at Vista on Friday night at 5:15 p.m.

“We’ll need to have a lot more touches and possess the ball a little more,” Coach Montoya said of the upcoming game. “Vista only graduated a couple players, and we tied them two to two last year, so we really need to come out ready to play.”

Video: VCHS football vs Mar Vista, CIF playoffs

The Jaguars hosted the Mar Vista Mariners on Friday night, and the game came down to the final minutes before Valley Center pulled out a 23-21 victory.

The win advances the No. 4 seed Jaguars to play at No. 1 St. Augustine this coming Friday night in the semifinals of the CIF Division IV playoffs.

Here are the video highlights from last Friday's game, and as always, to see all the videos from VCHS football (as well as some other fun videos), visit our YouTube page at www.youtube.com/dankidder

Videos by Everett Bean & Dan Kidder

Ryan Kleiman takes off after the Jags miss the handoff, then throws an interception on the run.


Sullivan Shimer makes a nice catch on the slant, but fumbles when he gets hit. Sean Cutrell hustled after the play, though, and comes up with the loose ball.


The Mariners run a reverse with the running back, who gets free in the defense and takes it in for an 85-yard touchdown.


Kleiman hits Cody Gearhart across the middle, and Gearhart takes it down the sideline before getting knocked out of bounds.


Kleiman pushes through the pile to score from one yard out.


On a third down play, Matt Preston busts through the line and hits the Mar Vista QB, knocking the ball free. The Mariners recovered, but had to face a fourth-and-long.


Austin Bernard takes the handoff on the draw and outruns the defense to the endzone.


Kleiman throws a beautiful fade pass to Michael McInerny in the corner of the endzone for the touchdown.


The Mariners score on another long run, this one good for 79 yards.


The Mariners' QB takes off on a fourth-down run that turns into a 42-yard touchdown.


Kleiman throws deep to McInerny on the post, and the receiver hauls it in over double coverage to pick up 46 yards late in the game.


Shimer hits the Mar Vista QB as he dives for the endzone, and when the ball comes loose, Shimer recovers for the Jaguars.


Bernard runs up the middle, then cuts to the sideline to pick up 37 yards on a drive that led to the game-winning field goal.


McInerny drills a 32-yard field goal to give the Jaguars a two-point lead late in the fourth quarter.


Dylan Chafee, recently called up from the JV team, comes up with a huge play as he sacks the Mar Vista QB with time running out in the fourth quarter.

Videos: VCHS football at Orange Glen

In a wild game that came down to the final seconds, the Jaguars nearly came all the way back from a first-half deficit against Orange Glen, eventually falling to the Patriots 42-38 last Friday night.

Here are the video highlights from the game--sorry that it takes a few to get to the good VC plays, but I included most of the key plays from the game to give you an overview of how the game went. Pay special attention to the three-play sequence that begins with the Shaun Woods fumble on the kickoff; beginning with that play, the next two videos happened on the next two plays, making for a three-play, 20-second span in which there were three consecutive turnovers.

And as always, to see the entire collection of videos, visit our YouTube page at www.youtube.com/dankidder

Video by Dan Kidder

Ryan Kleiman tries to complete a deep pass, but it gets intercepted by the Patriots.


The Patriots bloop a high kick, and the Jaguars can't hold onto the ball.


The Patriots fumble the snap, and Dylan Fredenburg comes up with the loose ball.


Shaun Woods makes a catch for a big gain, but as he's getting tackled, he laterals the ball to Michael McInerny, who almost makes it in for a score, but ends up fumbling the ball out of the endzone.


Alexis Espino works his way through the offensive line to get to the Orange Glen QB for the sack.


The Patriots try another bloop kickoff, and when Brad Dozier tries to catch the kick, he gets hit hard and fumbles.


Austin Bernard takes the handoff on the sweep and gets in for the five-yard touchdown.


Kleiman throws it deep for WR Anthony Ricks, who makes a nice catch in front of the defender for a 34-yard gain.


Bernard runs it in from one yard out for the touchdown.


Bernard runs the ball on the draw, bounces it out to the sideline and nearly scores when he dives for the endzone, but is marked out of bounds at the two-yard line.


Kleiman sneaks the ball into the endzone from two yards out.


In one of the key plays of the game, the Patriots try to run the option pitch, but when the ball gets away from the running back, it skitters around on the ground before going out of bounds.


Kleiman throws a perfectly-placed pass to the back corner of the endzone, where WR Michael McInerny is there for the 11-yard touchdown catch.


Bernard goes in untouched for the 18-yard touchdown run that gave his team the lead with 1:10 left in the game.


Kleiman rolls out and hits Woods for the two-point conversion.


The Patriots drove 80 yards in the final minute of the game to score on this rollout pass that proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

Video: VCHS football vs San Pasqual

In a hard-fought, back-and-forth game, the Jaguars lost by only three points to San Pasqual last Friday.

Here are the video highlights from the game, including a pair of controversial decisions by the referees.

And be sure to visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/dankidder to see all the VCHS football videos and much more.

Video by Dan Kidder

Ryan Kleiman connects with Cody Gearhart for a gain of 76 yards on the first play of the game.


Austin Bernard takes it in for a 3-yard touchdown run.


After a bad snap on the extra point try, Michael McInerny scoops up the loose ball and chucks it into the endzone, where Garrett Castner is wide open for the two-point conversion catch.


Gearhart tips this San Pasqual pass and nearly comes down with the interception.


Bernard takes the ball on the sweep and dives across the pylon for a four-yard touchdown.


The Eagles try a quick out, but when Dylan Fredenburg hits the QB, the pass goes awry, and Shaun Woods grabs the interception and takes it in for a touchdown.


Gearhart makes a nice catch and hangs on after taking a pretty good hit.


After the Eagles scored a touchdown, Sullivan Shimer makes a big play by blocking the extra point kick.


McInerny makes a great catch along the sideline, but gets flagged for offensive pass interference. If you can find anything on this video that shows pass interference on either player, you've got better eyes than I do.


The Eagles make a fair catch signal on a punt return, but the returner begins running with the ball. The referees blow the play dead, but do not assess any penalty for the delay of game on the San Pasqual return man, saying that the runner took "only two steps" after making the fair catch signal. See if you can count how many steps he takes before the whistle blows.


Matt Preston steps in front of this lobbed pass to get the interception.

Video: VCHS football at Mt. Carmel

The Jaguars traveled to Mt. Carmel last Friday night and overcame some first half mistakes to take a 37-10 win.

Here are some video highlights from the action, and as always, you can visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/dankidder to see all our past VCHS sports videos and more.

Video by Dan Kidder

Dylan Fredenburg jumps up to knock down this pass at the line of scrimmage.


Ryan Kleiman throws deep for Michael McInerny, who makes the catch for a gain of 31 yards.


Kleiman throws a quick slant pass to McInerny, who hauls it in and outruns the defense for a 12-yard touchdown.


Kleiman hangs in the pocket and delivers a perfect throw down the middle of the field to McInerny for a 53-yard touchdown.


August Fleugge breaks through the Mt. Carmel line and gets the sack.


Kleiman tries to escape the pressure by scrambling, and his throw on the run gets intercepted by the Sundevils.


Kleiman connects with Anthony Ricks on the post pattern for a beautiful 24-yard touchdown pass.


Matt Preston sees the run coming and lays a big hit on the Sundevil running back for a loss.


Austin Bernard makes a cutback in the middle of the field, then cuts back at the sideline and nearly breaks free from the defense on a long run.


Cody Gearhart goes up for the interception, runs into a pile where Garrett Castner helps him stay on his feet, then escapes for a long touchdown return...but the touchdown gets called back on a blocking penalty against the Jaguars.


Bernard weaves his way toward the sideline and dives into the endzone to score on a 29-yard touchdown run.


Bernard takes the ball to the outside, cuts up the field and runs into a pile, but stretches the ball across the goal line for the 11-yard touchdown.


The Sundevils fumble the snap and Shaun Woods comes up with the recovery for the Jaguars.

Video: VCHS football vs San Marcos

It was Homecoming night in Valley Center on Friday, and the Jaguars celebrated with a dominant game on defense in taking a 51-6 win over San Marcos.

Here are the video highlights:

Video by Dan Kidder

Anthony Ricks jumps in front of this pass, tips it to himself in midair, then grabs the interception and runs it in for a touchdown.


Austin Bernard plows into the pile, then busts out the other side on his way to a 65-yard touchdown run.


Shaun Woods gets open on the seam route and pulls in this pass for a 33-yard gain.


Bernard runs up the middle, makes a cut to avoid the defense, then breaks away for a 40-yard touchdown.


Ryan Kleiman hits Michael McInerny on the post pattern for a nice 20-yard touchdown.


The Knights try a rollout pass, but Joe Monzon steps in front of the receiver to grab the interception.


Bernard runs up the middle and cruises in for a 17-yard touchdown.


The Knights run up the middle, but the Jaguars knock the ball loose and recover the fumble.


The Knights try one last play before halftime, but when the Jaguars knock the ball away from the QB, Garrett Castner scoops up the fumble and runs in for the touchdown.


Woods breaks through the line and drags the San Marcos QB down for a sack.


As the Knights drive for a score, they try a pass into the endzone, but Sullivan Shimer jumps in front of the receiver to grab the interception and save a touchdown.


Shimer reads the play near his own goal line and grabs his second interception of the game.



Be sure to check out all the VCHS sports videos on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/dankidder