LA PUENTE – Nogales played “lights out” in clinching the Montview League title with a 29-0 win over Ontario Thursday night.
It’s the Nobles (7-3, 5-0) first league title since 2018 and its first winning season since 2017.
“Bringing the title back to Nogales says a lot about the kids, the coaching staff, and everyone else who has put so much work into the program,” Nobles coach Matt Villasenor said. “This will be the first time we’ve gone to the playoffs in back to back years since 2017 and 2018 so I’m just grateful and happy for the kids.”
The Nobles are hoping for a home game when the CIF Southern Section playoff pairings are released on Sunday. The Nobles are projected to be in Division 13, but things could change depending on where they finish in the HSratings computer rankings that help decide playoff divisions.
On the field, the Nobles left no doubt, needing less than a minute to get on the scoreboard. Senior quarterback Santino Garcia hit sophomore Isaac Guzman on a 75-yard scoring pass at the 11:16 mark of the first quarter.
“We kind of take what they give us,” Villasenor said. “This is senior night tonight so we told the kids to go out there and play hard and have fun.”
Garcia completed eight of 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown.
A bad snap on an attempted punt on the Jaguars (6-3, 3-2) first possession ended up in a safety and 9-0 lead for the Nobles.
Senior Orlando Zamora capped a 59-yard scoring drive with a 16 yard run behind his big offensive line.
Zamora carried the ball nine times for 109 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Nobles.
As the Nobles lined up for the extra point, the lights went out.
“Some people were saying that we turned the lights out after we scored,” Zamora said. “Winning a title feels great. We haven’t done that in a long time. It feels great to be league champs and I hope we can keep winning in the playoffs.”
After a delay of about 45 minutes, the lights came back on and Noah Lopez kicked the extra point for a 16-0 lead.
During the delay the coaches agreed to play the rest of the game with a running clock.
“We didn’t know how long the lights would be off or, if they would go off again,” Jaguars coach Jeremiah Budnovich said. “Coach Villasenor and I were of the same mindset that we wanted to get out of here with no injuries and be ready for the playoffs next week.”
Nathan Estrada returned a punt 43-yards to the Jaguar’s 20-yard line.
Fabian Rangel finished the scoring for the Nobles with a 14-yard run.
“We’re in the same league and we’re both going to the playoffs,” Villasenor said. “We agreed we wanted to get out of here with no injuries so we let the clock run.”
Budnovich, in his second year as head coach, has turned around a team that went 2-8 last year. This is their first winning season since 2008.
The Jaguars got a good performance from sophomore quarterback Trevor Beltran but the Nobles defense, led by Steven Aguilar and Christian Flores, held them in check.
