Pee Wee (Conference Championship)
La Cañada Gladiators 36, Walnut Diamond Bar Cowboys 6
The La Cañada Gladiators left no doubt that they deserved the conference championship with a 36-6 triumph over the previously undefeated Walnut Diamond Bar Cowboys on Saturday afternoon at Mountain View High School in El Monte. In addition to finishing 10-0 and undisputed conference champs, the Gladiators also received the conference trophies for the highest team GPA and sportsmanship scores.
On offense, Kyle Tavizon led all Gladiator running backs with 28 yards on seven carries. Tavizon also led the defense with nine tackles, two sacks, and an interception returned for a score. Quarterback Kyle Cheung continued to have a great season, hitting on over 70% of his passes, throwing for 95 yards and two touchdowns, including an outstanding 27-yard pass to wide receiver Robby Benson.
After winning the toss, the Gladiators deferred and kicked off to the Cowboys. The Cowboys’ wishbone offense was unable to move the ball, and a poor punt set up the Gladiators deep in Cowboy territory. Ernesto Juaregui then pounded the ball into the endzone from the 7-yard line. After Nick McConnell added the extra point, the Gladiators were up 8-0 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Gladiators’ offensive line came alive. Sean Bloks, Sean Davitt, Matthew Perasso, Joey Robertson, Chris Basso, Alex Espinosa, Trent Bauer, Gunnar Trowbridge, Mike Reilly and wide outs Ross Niederhaus, Cameron Chavez, Robert Benson, and Matt Erickson neutralized the Cowboy defense, while running backs Tavizon, Juaregui, and Jack Philo chewed up yardage. After a 17-yard scramble by quarterback Cheung put the Gladiators on the Cowboy 3-yard line, it appeared that the Gladiators were about to take a commanding two touchdown lead. A stalwart defensive stand, however, kept La Cañada out of the end zone, and the Cowboys took over on their own 1-yard line. Two plays later, a Cowboy running back raced 98 yards for a score to close the gap to 8-6.
The Cowboys’ defense then held the Gladiator offense on downs, and it briefly appeared that momentum had swung to the Cowboys. On a key fourth down play near mid-field, however, the Cowboy quarterback was sacked for a loss by Juaregui. With a short field, and time running out in the first half, Cheung hit Benson on a 27-yard scoring pass between two Cowboy defenders to put the Gladiators up 14-6 at the half.
