STAFF WRITER
MORENO VALLEY › It was a rough two weeks for Moreno Valley Valley View’s defense, but the Eagles made up for it Friday, all but shutting down Hemet on the way to a 45-9 victory.
The Eagles entered the game having surrendered a combined 106 points in the previous two games against Paloma Valley and Corona, two of the area’s top teams. But Hemet, despite its 2-0 record entering the game, never got on track and quarterback Joey Iribe was hobbled with a deep thigh bruise.
Valley View’s defense took advantage, holding the Bulldogs to minus-9 yards on the ground. Valley View started the game with a nine-play, 80-yard drive and led 24-3 at the half.
“We tried to work on that all summer,” sophomore quarterback Jacob Barlage said of the Eagles’ balance on offense. “Last year all we did was run the ball a lot so we tried to work on that, and it came out well today.”
Barlage connected for a 25-yard touchdown to Robert Heiermann on the first series, then found him again with 11:41 left in the second quarter for a 17-yard score. Barlage hit Anthony Thomas for a 25-yard touchdown on the next possession and Hemet (2-1) couldn’t recover.
“I did a poor job getting them ready,” Hemet coach Jason Thornburg said. “When you’re 2-0 and you start believing some things. … I just didn’t get them ready and Valley View played a great game.”
Dwight Brown was the workhorse in the Eagles running game, carrying the ball 22 times for 121 yards. Justin Keeling and fullbackRudy Lovato combined for 121 rushing yards, with Lovato scoring in the fourth as Valley View (1-2) extended its lead to 38-9. The defense added a score when Donzell Alexander picked off a pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown in the third.
“We had too many mistakes that young teams do,” Thornburg said. “We have to get better. We’ll be fine by league.”
Backup quarterback Sebestian Roque hit Kyle Serna on a 75-yard pass for Hemet’s lone touchdown.
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