By Matt Jocks
Correspondent
HEMET >> When the curtain went up, the Hemet Bulldogs were ready for their opening act.
In an unusually polished and complete performance for a season opener, the Bulldogs showed a little bit of everything Friday in rolling past Banning, 42-14.
“You know, I used to be the one saying the preseason didn’t matter,” Hemet coach Jeff Thornburg said. “But now the preseason is everything.”
The CIF-Southern Section’s move away from automatic qualifying by league standings means that everything counts. From the outset, that’s the way Hemet performed.
Hemet started the night with a 41-yard pass play from first time starting quarterback Max Lundgren to Kalin Whitfield. It was part of a crisp six-play, 80yard drive, capped by Armando Serna’s 6-yard touchdown run.
The Bulldogs reached the end zone on four of their six first-half possessions, including a pair of scoring runs by Tyler Richardson. More impressively for an August opener, Hemet kept the penalties to a minimum and kept the ball off the ground.
“You think (that you’re well-prepared) and you hope,” Thornburg said. “But you don’t know until you execute it.”
Lundgren had a solid debut at quarterback, completing 10 of 15 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown.
Hemet’s defense also impressed, containing Banning’s dynamic 1-2 punch of D’Anthony Galloway and Eric Ellison. Galloway was held to negative yardage in the first half, and
Ellison had to work hard for his 97 yards on 22 carries.
Banning, playing its first game under coach Que’Sand Lewis and in its new spread offense, showed some growing pains. The Broncos were penalized 13 times and committed a couple of costly turnovers.
The Broncos also flashed explosiveness, scoring second- half touchdowns on a 33yard pass from Ellison to Cory Brown and a 36-yard pass from Galloway to Ellison.
“They always say the biggest growth is from Week 1 to Week 2,” Lewis said. “We’re going to get better. This just means I have to do my job and the players have to do their jobs. The scoreboard will take care of itself.”