COVINA — The Chino Cowboys rode roughshod over Covina 49-27 in the Hacienda League opener for both teams Friday night.
The Cowboys (2-4, 1-0) jumped out to a 21-0 lead, scoring on five of their first six possessions and didn’t have to punt all night.
“This team is relentless,” Chino’s first year coach Alex Arellano said. “We’ve had a brutal preseason but we’re better than our record and now it’s time to show the rest of the league.”
The Cowboys scored on their first possession, a 57-yard pass from senior quarterback Carson Hoover to sophomore Markell Monroe with 9:51 left in the first quarter.
Monroe, a transfer from Ayala playing in his first game, caught five passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cowboys passing attack.
“Those were his first three catches,” Arellano said. “He’s a transfer (from Ayala) and had to sit out but he’s only a sophomore and has a bright future, we’re really excited about it.”
Hoover completed 9 of twelve passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns but the Cowboys balanced attack also had 263 yards rushing behind their big offensive line.
“Markell had a great night tonight,” Hoover said. “He won his matchups and got open. He made my job really easy.”
The Colts finally got on the board on a three-yard run by Gatsbee Gumban after a 94-yard kickoff return by Kevin Perez.
Gumban also caught a 36-yard scoring pass from quarterback Roy Vasquez but it wasn’t enough as the Cowboys had over 300 yards in total offense and led 35-14 at the break.
The Colts put a scare into the Cowboys to start the second half. Vasquez hit wide receiver Matt Olivas for a 42-yard scoring play with only 1:43 gone in the third quarter.
Manual Zapata recovered an onside kick and four plays later Vasquez and Olivas connected on for a 10-yard score to close the gap to 35-27.
“We were a little overmatched in places,” Colts coach Joe Brown said. “I was really happy with the way our guys battled. It’s tough when you’re giving up that much size up front but, they did a good job with their and kind of leaned into us. I’m proud of the way our kids battled.”
The Cowboys running attack was lead by Nathan Bull with 16 carries for 138 yards. Raymond Chia added 90 yards on 13 carries. They each scored a touchdown.
Most of their running was done up the middle behind center Pablo Valdez and all-CIF tackle Johnny Navarro.
“We incorporate different formations depending on who we have in there. When we can run and pass the ball, it makes the offense a lot easier.”
The Cowboys defense did a good job of shutting down the high-powered Colts offense with five sacks and constant pressure on Vasquez while holding the Colts running attack to only 39 yards, 150 below their season average.
“Our strategy in the second half was to try and keep them off the field,” Arellano said. “So we just ran the ball but I was never comfortable.”
