RESEDA — The Fulton (Van Nuys) football team won a close affair over Reseda in Friday’s nonleague season opener.
Despite a late rally from the Reseda on their home field, Fulton was able to hang on to win, 18-16.
Fulton head coach Steve Smith says it takes toughness to get a result.
“It takes heart, accountability and just doing your job,” Smith said.
Smith said he wants to see his players on the same page and prioritizing the team over individuals.
Fulton’s defense stepped up with Derra Reth getting the game’s first interception.
Throughout the first half, both defenses made big plays, getting interceptions and big stops on third down.
Toward the end of the half, Fulton wide receiver Iyobosa Aghahowa scored the first touchdown of the game on a pass from Reth for a 6-0 lead.
Moments later, Aghahowa intercepted a pass and Reseda was knocking on the door again.
But on the final play of the half, the Reseda defense stepped up to keep the deficit at 6-0.
To start the second half, Fulton running back Angel Salomon ran for a score to push the lead to 12-0.
For Reseda, Michael Henriquez had a rushing touchdown and the Regents added the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 12-8.
Fulton answered with a touchdown on the kickoff return, but the 2-point conversion was intercepted by Reseda’s Axel Hernandez to make it 18-8
With 2:24 left in the game, Jafet Contreras scored for the Regents and with the 2-point conversion being successful, it was a two-point game, 18-16.
Fulton was able to run out the on its final possession to secure the win.
Aghahowa said he was proud of his team’s start.
“This was a team effort. We wanted to prove everybody wrong,” Aghahowa said. “We carried the momentum of the crowd and we won the game.”
Smith praised Reth and Aghahowa for their performances, especially going both ways.
“They’re gladiators. That’s what we used to do back when I played. Going both ways.” Smith said.
Reseda head coach Reginald Tyson said his team needs to improve in all areas.
“It’s that time of year. We had missed blocks and misread assignments,” Smith said. “We need to work on minimizing those errors as we head to our next couple of games.”
Tyson said it is back to the drawing board, heading to their rivalry game against Cleveland next Friday at 7 p.m.
“They [Cleveland] are a physical team,” Tyson said. “We already know what they bring. We have to try and match them up. It will be a challenge for us.”
Tyson said some of his players are dealing with injuries from last season.
“That’s the reason why we don’t have a lot of depth,” Tyson said. “So when our guys with experience go down, we have to play freshmen.”
Fulton will host Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Catholic School next Friday at 3:30 p.m.