RANCHO CUCAMONGA — It looked like the Chino Hills football team was going to have to accept a two-point halftime deficit after kicking a field goal with 34.6 seconds left in the first half.
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Chino Hills quarterback Alex Medyn, (#3) is sacked by Etiwanda’s Carson Geye, (#11), in a Baseline League football game at Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by John Valenzuela, Contributing Photographer)
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Chino Hills quarterback Alex Medyn, (#3) is sacked by Etiwanda’s Carson Geye, (#11), in a Baseline League football game at Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by John Valenzuela, Contributing Photographer)
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But that all changed when the Huskies’ Cayden Beyer ripped the ball out of the hands of Brandon Andrade and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown with 3.8 seconds left on the clock.
It was the first of three consecutive Etiwanda turnovers that resulted in touchdowns for Chino Hills, which pulled away for a 33-19 Baseline League victory Thursday night.
The victory keeps the Huskies (6-2 overall, 3-0 in league) tied for first place with Rancho Cucamonga, which also won Thursday. Etiwanda dropped to 3-5, 1-2.
“Today, was a third-place game,” Huskies coach Keland Johnson said. “You go 3-0, you’re guaranteed third place. Next week (against Damien) is for second place, because Rancho beat Damien. After that, is a first-place game. We have to take it one week at a time.”
Etiwanda took its only lead of the game midway through the second quarter.
One play after Chino Hills failed to convert on fourth-and-2 from its 18, Etiwanda’s Keegan Campuzano threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Andrade to give Etiwanda a 12-7 lead 4:51 before halftime.
The Huskies drove to first-and-goal at the 2 on the ensuing drive, but penalties and incompletions forced them to kick a field goal. Noah Ahari’s 30-yarder made it 12-10 with 34.6 seconds remaining to halftime.
With little time but three timeouts in their pocket, Etiwanda looked to build on that defensive stand.
And when Campuzano completed a short pass to Andrade, it was Beyer who seized the opportunity.
“I knew coming into the week that they carried the ball pretty loosely,” Beyer said. “I could feel it in the first quarter. I had a strip, but they (officials) didn’t call it. (At the end of the half), I just pulled it (from Andrade), I saw no one in front of me and I hoped I would make it.”
Etiwanda coach Paul Unga regretted the aggressiveness at the end of the first half.
“I kind of made a coaching error. I should’ve taken a knee,” he said. “That’s on me. I take the blame for that one.”
The score put the Huskies up 17-12 but gave them a lot of momentum.
Twice in the first 3 minutes of the third quarter, the Eagles turned the ball over again, on a fumble and an interception. Both resulted in Jacob Jimenez touchdown runs (26 and 2 yards) and Chino Hills led 30-12 and essentially sealed Etiwanda’s fate.
“Our guys are young. We’re working on it and hopefully we’ll put it together before the season’s over,” Unga said.
Chino Hills had a solid night on the ground as Jimenez, quarterback Alex Medyn (who threw for 113 yards) and Jeremiah Jackson combined to rush 35 times for 224 yards.
Etiwanda was held to 141 yards on 23 carries, but 12 of the Eagles’ carries went for zero or negative yards. Jaleel Sutton had two carries of at least 52 yards and finished with 123 yards
“I’m really proud of the way we gelled,” Johnson said. “I think that’s our strength and it has to be our strength, our o-line and our d-line.”
