The Diamond Ranch High School football team took efficiency to unprecedented levels Thursday night. Without a single possession in the game’s first 19 minutes, the Panthers managed to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 29-6 victory over Chaffey.
Recovering an errant punt snap in Chaffey’s end zone was the only positive play for Diamond Ranch (1-3) of the game’s first 32. Having taken the field for the first time with 3:39 left in the first half, its safe to say the Panthers offense will be well rested heading into its Hacienda League opener against Bonita.
Diamond Ranch secured its first win of the season at the expense of a Chaffey that has lost three strait asit heads into Mt. Baldy League play next week.
“They’re a good football team who could have beaten Damien, could have beaten Elsinore last week,” Chaffey coach Chris Brown said of Diamond Ranch, which has lost its last two games by seven points. “But our offense was good tonight. We were able to control the ball a little bit.”
That little but of ball control limited Diamond Ranch’s time of possession to just 13:22, but the Panthers made it count. Following an eight-minute, 19-second touchdown drive by Chaffey (1-3) that pulled the Tigers within 7-6, Diamond Ranch needed just 2:23 for its offense to answer with a touchdown drive after Chaffey attempted an onside kick.
“I was selfish,” Brown said. “I wanted the ball for the entire first half. They wouldn’t have had one play.”
Chaffey blocked a 35-yard field goal attempt to end Diamond Ranch’s first drive of the second half and prepared to march for the potentially tying touchdown. A fumbled exchange, however, awarded not only the ball but a 28-yard field to the Panthers who promptly took a 22-6 lead thanks to a 22-yard screen pass from Xavier Beltran to sophomore running back Nick Gibson, one of two pass completions the entire night. Gibson carried 11 times for 101 yards and found the end zone twice.
Chaffey’s featured ball carrier, junior Joel Koloa, grinded out 111 yards on 35 carries with a touchdown in his first game at tailback. With senior running back Devon Samuels nursing a hip pointer, the bruising Koloa was largely responsible for Chaffey’s overwhelming advantage in time of possession.
“It’s tough (to defend) with that big line up front,” Diamond Ranch coach Roddy Layton said of the Chaffey offense. “They get in that tight formation and its 11 guys in a big scrum.”
Chaffey turned the ball over on downs at the Diamond Ranch 9-yard line after a 18-play drive on its final possession., clearing the way for Diamond Ranch to put the game away when Gibson scored on a 32-yard run with 2:33 to play.
