Arleta football routs Sun Valley Poly

ARLETA — In just a few days, it’ll be November, but judging by the weather, that feels like a fever dream. The strong sun set the stage for a warm showdown between Arleta football and Sun Valley Poly. The heat tested both teams’ conditioning – and it was clear which one could handle it.

The Mustangs (7-3, 5-1 East Valley League) defeated the Parrots (4-6, 4-3 East Valley League) 50-7 to secure the Victory Cup for the third year in a row.

“It’s nice to end strong going into the playoffs,” Arleta head coach Bill Coan said. “As opposed to having injuries, which we actually made through this season pretty healthy.”

Before halftime, Mustangs Jose Rosas picked off Parrots quarterback Daniel Parra on the last play. The first play of the second half? Rosas intercepted a pass from Parra.

Rosas also had an impact offensively by rushing for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Ethan Lillingston had two interceptions, returning both for pick-sixes; one 52 yards out and the other 45 yards. Lillingston caught an 11-yard touchdown in the middle of the second quarter to make his impact felt offensively.

“It’s a good one-two punch,” Coan said. “They’re both very athletic. Jose [Rosas] has a vision for football because he sees in the pile, and he can see things, and he keeps moving forward. A lot of backs who run side to side, but he’ll run forward because he has good vision and sees where the hole is.”

Handing the ball off to Rosas and throwing to Lillingston was quarterback Jesse Rios. The Mustangs quarterback didn’t have to do much. He executed the Arleta offense to perfection, utilizing the quick passing game and handing off when necessary.

Rios still found his moment to shine by stepping up in the pocket and finding an open lane to run through, scoring from 22 yards out. The run gave Arleta a 36-7 lead in the second quarter. Rios finished  5 of 5 for 72 yards with two touchdowns.

“We were successful throwing the ball,” Coan said. “And that’s really not what we do. We run the ball, but it’s good to be able to throw because that keeps the other team honest, and not just stack the box like they, like most teams do.”

Early on, the Parrots found success by running the ball and moving the ball down the field effectively on their first drive. Parra capped off the first drive with a 30-yard strike to wideout Johncarlo Mirabal, tying the game at seven early in the first quarter. From there, it was all Mustangs.

Arleta will find out who it plays on Saturday afternoon in the playoffs, but Coan said he’d like to know where his team will be ranked.

“Well, hopefully we’ll be in the top five in Division 2,” Coan said.”