CHULA VISTA – Perhaps playing on the familiar home turf of Pete Ross Stadium on Sept. 5 will be a key factor in Point Loma High getting back to the offensive performance they displayed in a season-opening 42-24 win over Del Norte.
By contrast, the Pointers struggled to put points on the board last week as they squeaked by a stubborn Otay Ranch team in a 14-7 victory that left them undefeated (2-0). Tuesday’s match pits them against an opponent that replaced them when they were dropped from the Western League to the Eastern League this season.
Scripps Ranch’s Falcons fly in to challenge the Dogs, carrying a 1-1 record after a 41-6 loss to Poway (which scrimmaged the Pointers last month) and a 25-7 win over Warren High of Downey.
Against Del Norte, the Pointers punished the Nighthawks with 469 yards in offense (324 passing, 145 rushing) led by Romeo Carter’s seven catches for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Both quarterbacks, Ryder Watson (202 yards) and Henry Heuser (122 yards), had good games, completing 58% of their passes. Braden Lane carried 13 times for 54 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, Braeden Bartocci had two sacks, five tackles for loss, and four quarterback hurries. Owen Ice and Ace Selchow each had six tackles. Chase Thomas had an interception he returned for 30 yards.
But after a bus ride to Chula Vista, where the game temperature at Otay Ranch was a humid upper-80s, the Pointers never seemed to put together consistent offensive drives. Granted, the Mustangs came into the game fresh from an opening 37-6 trouncing of Rancho Buena Vista in their first game under veteran head coach Howard Bannister, who moved over from Chula Vista High.
This time, Heuser played all but the first series of downs, completing half his passes (10 of 20) for 109 yards. His longest was caught by Leo Sahd for 30 yards. Carter was held to three catches for 27 yards total.
On the ground, Lane carried 13 times for 51 yards while Heuser ran 10 times for 30 yards, scoring both touchdowns, the first with just 56 seconds left in the first half. His second came with 1:55 to play in the third quarter.
After the first score, the Pointers were penalized 15 yards before the PAT kick, making the distance 34 yards, but Ryan Cleator’s boot was good from that distance.
Defensively, the Pointers played well, Otay Ranch’s touchdown not coming until the final seconds of the game. The Mustangs had only eight total yards passing, completing just two of ten throws. Running backs were held to 84 yards for a total offense of 92 yards.
In postgame remarks to his team, head coach Ryan Price focused his concern on the effort he saw during the week of practice leading up to the Otay Ranch game.
“I saw warning signs of a sub-par performance all week,” Price said. “We had kids out with strep (throat), kids out with the flu, we were missing guys in practice, just a lot of bad things happened this week. I know coach Bannister, and I knew they were going to be a well-coached team and bring their best. I warned our guys all week that if we didn’t bring our best, this was the kind of game it was going to be.”
Luckily, the Pointers had just enough offense to win.
“Thankfully, our guys kept fighting, and a win is a win,” Price noted. “(Otay Ranch) is a team with heart, they are respectful, and they play the game right. Anybody can win on Friday night if they bring their best. We didn’t bring our best, but we still got the win.”
The Pointers were flagged with several penalties on the final Mustang drive that resulted in their lone touchdown.
“We have to learn how to close out games,” Price said. “Those are discipline things and we will absolutely correct them.”
Extra points
The Pointer freshman team is 1-1 following a 13-6 loss to Del Norte and a 28-7 win over Otay Ranch. The junior varsity is also 1-1, losing 27-14 to Del Norte and beating Otay Ranch 7-0.
Following this week’s games, the Pointers take their annual bye week break before returning to host Eastlake Sept. 19.
The Sept. 19 game will be this year’s homecoming game, with patrons from the school’s 100th anniversary gala event on Sept. 13 encouraged to attend. Tickets for all games should be purchased ahead of time on gofan.co.
Parents are asked not to drop off unsupervised elementary or middle school children at any home games. These children should be accompanied by and sit with an adult.
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