GLENDALE — After surrendering a touchdown on the game’s opening drive, the La Cañada football team leaned on a defense that didn’t allow another point in a 28-7 win over Village Christian at Glendale Community College on Thursday night.
Village Christian jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 9:29 in the first when quarterback Hudson Gerhardt tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Julian Bethel.
“We didn’t make any changes,” said La Cañada coach Dave Avramovich. “We just did what we were supposed to do. It was pretty frustrating there early on. You don’t want to start that way but then it’s like, ‘hey, guys, we know how to play. Let’s play.’ And then the rest of the night, they did a really good job.”
Connor Alexander knocked down a 31-yard field goal later in the quarter to get Spartans (3-0) on the board.
Early in the second quarter, Troy West and Jake Bell each contributed to a safety in the end zone to pull La Cañada within two points.
Spartans quarterback Joe Bell put them ahead on an 11-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
“After the first drive, our defense was amazing,” said Bell. “We have one of the best defenses in the area and all of our guys can just ball out. It makes it so much easier when special teams and defense play like that. You can really see that they want to be out there, and these guys want to compete. It takes so much pressure off the offense.”
The defense forced a long field attempt with under a minute play in the first half. After a miss by the Crusaders (2-1), Spartan’s quarterback Joe Bell put together an 82-yard drive that saw him throw an 18-yard touchdown three seconds before halftime.
“We’ve worked the two-minute drill,” said Avramovich. “It’s part of our regular weekly routine. I thought the receivers understood the assignment and they got out of bounds when they needed to. I thought Joe did a really good job taking what they gave us and took easy completions to move us down the field.”
On the opening kickoff of the second half, La Cañada’s Ross Pickens delivered a 75-yard touchdown return that helped put this one away.
“It’s always great when special teams can put points on the board,” said Bell. “Ross is just a dog. You saw the burners on him right there. He can move. Ross is one of the best athletes in the area. Ross doesn’t get enough credit. He’s just a dude to watch out for out here.”
Dominic Rodriguez had an interception in win for the Spartans while both Braxton Boyd and Dylan Simon chipped in interceptions in defeat for the Crusaders.